POEM, 016 m & UNO f THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES 20TH CENTURY FORMULARY OP SONGS AND FORnS IN THE INTEREST OF FREE THOUGHT AND PROGRESS For the Use of Spiritualist and other Liberal Societies in their Public Meetings and their Homes LOS ANGELES, CAL.: PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, W. C. BOWMAN 1907 THIS book of SONGS, READINGS and FORMS is published in the interest of Liberalism, Free Thought and Prog ress. It is designed, not only for the use of Spiritualist and other Liberal Societies in their public meetings, but also as a useful Guide and Formulary in Marriage and Fu neral Services, as well as for helpful Thoughts, Sentiments and Suggestions in Home Life and Discipline. The work has been prompted by the conviction that the New Thought of our New Era needs to be definitely formulated and put into practical use in our Domestic, Social, Moral and Spiritual Life. 3S03 CONTENTS PART FIRST PAGES SONGS AND HYMNS FOR PUBLIC RELIG IOUS EXERCISES - - - 1-33 PART SECOND CLASSIFIED READINGS IN THE HIGHER THOUGHT AND THE HIGHER LIFE - 33 129 PART THIRD MARRIAGE AND A MARRIAGE CEREMONY 130-132 PART FOURTH HOME THE HOME SENTIMENT HOME TRAINING AND HOME LIFE - - 133-147 PART FIFTH FUNERAL SERVICES - - - 148-155 Songs and Hymns No. 1. THE MORNING LIGHT. From Greenland s Icy Mountains.. PHE morning light is breaking, The shadows disappear ; The sons of earth are waking From darkness, doubt and fear. The human mind, enshrouded In superstition s night, In mysteries beclouded, Beholds the dawning light. The dreary night of sorrow That wraps the world in gloom Shall vanish for the morrow With light beyond the tomb. That light, to man benighted, Directs the upward sight, And, to the soul invited, Reveals a glorious sight. Bright angels hover o er us The welcome news to bring Of better scenes before us ; In rapturous joy they sing. Earth s millions, from their sadness, Awake with joy and love, And, filled with peace and gladness, Look to their home above. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 2. FORWARD. From Greenland s Icy Mountains. FORWARD ! the day is breaking ; Earth shall be dark no more ; Millions of men are waking On every sea and shore. With trumpets and with banners, The world is marching on ; The air rings with hosannas, The field is fought and won. Forward ! the world before us Listens to hear our tread, And the calm heavens o er us Smile blessings on our head. Hope, like an eagle, hovers Above the way we go; The shield of patience covers Our hearts from every foe. Forward ! As near and nearer Draw we unto our rest, Joyous, the light shines clearer In every faithful breast. The past has ceased to bind us ; Its chains are hurled away; The deepest gloom behind us Melts in the dawn of day. No. 3. JOY TO THE WORLD. JOY to the world ! The darkness flies; ** Let earth with gladness sing; The morning comes o er all the skies She waves her purple wing. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Joy to the world ! for truth abounds, And "error, withering, dies ; " In fragments hurled upon the ground, Her broken altar lies. Joy to the world ! High o er the tomb The star of hope appears ; An angel voice from out the gloom Falls sweetly on our ears. " Joy to the world ! " the anthem be ; A song of triumph sing : " 0, Grave, where is thy victory ? 0, Death, where is thy sting ? " No. 4. THE HAPPY NOW. THERE sometimes gleams upon our sight, Through present wrongs, the eternal Right, And step by step, since time began, We see the steady gain of man. Whate er of good the past has had Remains to make our own time glad Our common daily life divine, And every land a Palestine. Through the harsh noises of the day A low, sweet prelude finds its way; Through clouds of doubt and creeds of fear A light is breaking, calm and clear. Henceforth my heart shall sigh no more For olden time and holier shore : The love and blessing then and there Are NOW, and HERE, and EVERYWHERE. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 5. TRUE FAITH. Ortonville. f\R, help the prophet to be bold ^ The poet to be true ! It yet remains for man to learn What Love to man may do. With faith not pent within a book Or buried in a creed, But growing with the expanding thought And deepening with the need. A faith that laughs in little joys Of children at their play, That weeps in every woman grief And prays when heroes pray. A faith whose parable is plain, And needs no priest to tell : Its law "Be kind, be pure, be just ;" Its promise " Thence be well." No. 6. COMING BY-AND-BY. A BETTER DAY is coming a morning promised long ^ When girded right, with holy might, will overthrow the wrong When God, the Lord, will listen to every plaintive sigh, And stretch his hand o er every land with justice by-and-by. CHORUS : Coming by-and-by ! coming by-and-by ! The better day is coming, the morning draweth nigh Coming by-and by ! coming by-and by ! The welcome dawn will hasten on tis coming by-and-by. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY The boast of haughty Error no more will fill the air, But age and youth will love the truth, and spread it every where; No more from want and sorrow will come the hopeless cry, But strife will cease, and perfect peace will flourish by and by. CHORUS. Oh, for that welcome dawning, when happiness and peace Shall bless the land from east to west and suffering shall cease. This glorious consummation our principles will bring, Then plenty will our homes all fill. It s coming; let us sing. CHORUS. No. 7. WONDROUS STORY. HAVE you heard the Wondrous Story, Come to save the world at last? Not some sacred myth grown hoary In the service of the past, For it points the way to duty, Where the light of truth shall shine ; Wondrous story full of beauty, Love to man is love divine. that all with hearts o erflowing To their fellow man may rise, Join with us, the thought is growing, Still there s room for sacrifice. Be the effort all unceasing, Till the world shall fall in line ; believe with faith increasing, Love to man is love divine. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 8. OUR MISSION A LL hail to the good time coining, All hail to the dawning light ! That comes like a revelation, To show what is true and right ; Our mission. Who is there dare to gain-say? Our blessed work shall be To join with the toiling millions, And make them truly free ! To save men from superstition, To save them from servile thrall, To lead in the van of progress, To plead for the rights of all ; Our mission. Who is there dare to gain say ? Our blessed work shall be To join with the toiling millions, And make them truly free ! As grand as the truth is mighty ; As high as the heavens above ; As broad as is all creation ! As deep as the depths of love ; Our mission. Who is there dare to gainsay ? Our blessed work shall be To join with the toiling millions, And make them truly free ! TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 9. MY CREED. YOU ask my creed, and I tell you true. Tis the simplest thing on earth, One that a child may understand, And yet of rarest worth. Tis the only Christ-made creed we have, The long-neglected lore : Just love to God and love to man ; Just this and nothing more. This creed of love is broad and high, And free as light and air ; It makes the whole world kith and kin, And life so wondrous fair. And I believe that God is love, And trust his loving care; It is a sea of health and peace Around us everywhere. No. 10. A TRANSFORMATION. Y life, or what it seemed to be, Has changed has changed so much to me; For now it claims a higher kin Than ever I had hoped to win. And nights have come and days have gone In which my soul was not alone; It winged itself to higher plane, And joined the eternal God-led train. And then I knew that I was one With Earth, and Moon, and Stars, and Sun. I knew I knew that I was free; That He was I, and I was He. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 11. THE DAWN OF PEACE PUT off, put off your mail, kings, And beat your brands to dust ! Your hands must learn a surer grasp, Your hearts a better trust. Oh, bend aback the lance s point, And break the helmet bar ; A noise in the morning wind, But not the note of war. Upon the grassy mountain paths The glittering hosts increase They come ! They come ! How fair their feet ! They come who publish peace. And victory, fair victory, Our enemies are ours ! For all the clouds are clasped in light, And all the earth with flowers. Aye, still depressed and dim with dew! But wait a little while, And with the radiant, deathless rose The wilderness shall smile. And every tender, living thing Shall feed by streams of rest ; Nor lamb shall from the flock be lost, Nor nursling from the nest. No. 12. A WELL ORDERED LIFE N stormy passions wild and strong Should e er distract the soul, But all the elements of mind Be subject to control. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Happy the man whose cautious steps Still keep the golden mean ; Whose life to wisdom s rules conformed, Preserves a conscience clean. Not of himself too highly thinks, Nor acts the boaster s part ; His modest tongue the language speaks Spontaneous from the heart. Not in low scandal s arts he deals, For truth dwells in his breast, With grief he sees his neighbor s faults, And thinks and hopes the best. By narrow creeds his generous soul Disdains to be confined ; He loves the good of every name Mongst all the human kind. No. 13. WORK FOR THE NATION THERE is work for the nation to do, And behold tis for one another ! Tis the gospel so old and so true, Of the duty we owe to a brother ; Tis for God-given rights as the world must shortly see, Even now dawns the glad new day ; The millenium of justice based on true humanity Comes at last, and comes to stay. CHORUS. So we ll join with hearts and voices In the cause of truth and right, And our motto e er shall be The New Era so rejoices 10 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY All the soldiers in the fight, We will march to victory. The New Era so rejoices All the soldiers in the fight, We will march to victory. By the thousands our numbers they swell, Of all classes of every station, In the count soon the millions will tell, The redemption we bring to the nation ; Reason forces the strong, but tis love all hearts must win To the conscience proclaim this call : Love to man is love divine. Let the reign of peace begin, Peace on earth good-will to all. CHORUS. Never doubt that the cause will prevail, On your work and your faith depending, On like vet rans who know not to fail, Forward march, the right defending ; When the vict ry is won we will march in grand review, Looking on, all the world will see, How the mass of common people brings us wealth and wisdom too, What a victory it will be ! CHORUS. No. 14. MY BROTHER S KEEPER w HY this growing agitation ! Tis the people s voice at last, Come in time to save the nation, Ere the danger line is past ; TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 11 From injustice, dire, appalling, Crying halt ! no further go, Tis the public conscience calling, This is what we want to know : Would you trample on a brother Struggling in life s bitter storm, And his cry for help to smother, Would you crush his prostrate form ? War declared against a neighbor, Fierce, relentless, is the strife. Once twas for the fruits of labor, Tis the struggle now for life ; Oh the anguish and the sorrow, Blighted hopes that ne er can be ! From the fear of dread to-morrow, Who can say that he is free? CHORUS. Sometime, sometime, wondrous story, Universal peace shall reign, Brotherhood the crowning glory, All the nations will maintain ; Freedom, Liberty, no longer Shall be catch words to enslave, Whoso in the right is stronger, Shall be called the true, the brave. CHORUS. No. 15. THE BRAVEST BATTLE *HE bravest battle that ever was fought ! Shall I tell you where and when ? On the maps of the world you will find it not Twas fought by the mothers of men. 12 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Nay, not with cannon or battle shot, With a sword or noble pen ; Nay, not with eloquent words or thought From the mouths of wonderful men ! But deep in a walled-up woman s heart Of a woman that would not yield, But bravely, silently bore her part Lo, there is the battle field ! No marshaling troops, no bivouac song, No banner to gleam and wave ; But oh! these battles, they last so long From babyhood to the grave. Yet, faithful still as a bridge of stars, She fights in her walled-up town Fights on and on in the endless wars, Then, silent, unseen, goes down. Oh, ye with banners and battle shot, And soldiers to shout and praise ! I tell you the kingliest victories fought Are fought in these silent ways. spotless woman in a world of shame, With splendid and silent scorn, Go back to God as white as you came The kingliest warrior born ! No. 16. MIZPATH GO thou thy way, and I go mine Apart, yet not afar : Only a thin veil hangs between The pathways where we are ; And " God keep watch tween thee and me."- This is my prayer. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 13 He looks thy way, he looketh mine, And keeps us near. I know not where thy road may be. Nor which way mine will be, If thine will lead through parching sands And mine beside the sea ; Yet " God keep watch tween thee and me." So never fear He holds thy hand, he claspeth mine, And keeps us near. Should wealth and fame perchance be thine, And my lot lowly be, Or you be sad and sorrowful, And glory be for me And " God keep watch tween thee and me." Both are his care- One arm, round thee and one round me, Will keep us near. I sigh sometimes to see thy face. But since this may not be, I ll leave thee to the care of Him Who cares for thee and me. " I ll keep ye both beneath my wings," This comforts dear, One wing o er thee and one o er me, So we are near. And though our paths be separate, And thy way be not mine ; Yet coming to the mercy seat, My soul shall meet with thine. And " God keep watch tween thee and me." I ll whisper there, He blesseth thee, He blesseth me, And we are near. 14 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 17. THE LIGHT OF TRUTH IS BREAKING MARY A. WHITE. Tune--The Morning Light is Breaking. THE light of truth is breaking Through many a rifted cloud, And quickened souls awakmg, Proclaim the truth aloud ; While weary hearts desponding By prison bars oppressed, In glad tones are responding Humanity is blessed. Across the waste of waters, In thought waves from afar, Earth s favored sons and daughters Are hailing freedom s star ; And everywhere in chorus Their gladsome voices ring ; The goal is just before us Humanity is king. Then freemen, never falter, Your banners lift on high ; A light from freedom s alter Illuminates the sky ; And soon in every hamlet Its beacon light shall shine ; And all will join the anthem, Humanity is divine. No. 18. COME AND JOIN US Tune--Brightly Beams Our Father s Mercy. :OME and join us in our pleasures, We are seeking purest joy, In pursuit of richest treasures We our moments here employ. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 15 CHORUS. Come and join us in our labors, We are working for the right. Come and join us, friends and neighbors, In our noble cause unite. Guided by the voice of duty, To the poor and outcast go, And let manhood, youth and beauty Join to banish want and woe. CHORUS. Joy of doing good is ours, Joy of suaging human woe, Joy of planting fruits and flowers Where the thorns of evil grow. CHORUS. No. 19. WORK. F. M. WHITE ORK ! it is thy highest mission, Work ! all blessings center there, Work for culture, for the vision Of the true, and good, and fair. w Tis of knowledge the condition, Opening still new fields beyond ; Tis of thought the full fruition, Tis of love the perfect bond. The Bethesda pool of sorrow, Healer of the ills of life ; Prophet of a brighter morrow, Door of hope and end of strife. 16 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMUJuARY Work ! by labor comes th unsealing Of the thoughts that in thee burn ; Comes in action the revealing Of the truths thou hast to learn. Work ! in helping, loving union, With thy brethern of mankind : With the foremost hold communion, Sccour those who toil behind. For true work can never perish, And thy followers in the way For thy works thy name shall cherish- Work ! while it is called to-day ! No. 20. ALL ARE BUILDERS H. W. LONGFELLOW. LL are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of time, Some with massive deed and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme. A Nothing useless is, or low, Each thing in its place is best ; And what seems but idle show, Strengthens and supports the rest. For the structure that we raise, Time is with materials filled ; Our to-days and yesterdays Are the blocks with which we build. Build to-day, then, strong and sure, With a firm and ample base ; And, ascending and secure, Shall to-morrow find its place. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 17 No. 21. WORK AS YOU WISH ELLA WHEELER WILCOX DO you wish the world were better? Let me tell you what to do, Set a watch upon your actions, Keep them always straight and true, Rid your mind of selfish motives, Let your thoughts be clean and high. You can make a little Eden Of the sphere you occupy. Do you wish the world were wiser? Well, suppose you make a start, By accumulating wisdom In the scrap-book of your heart. Do not waste one page on folly ; Live to learn and learn to live. If you want to give men knowledge, You must get it ere you give. Do you wish the world were happy? Then remember, day by day, Just to scatter seeds of kindness As you pass along the way : For the pleasures of the many May be oft times traced to one, As the hand that plants an acorn Shelters armies from the sun. No. 22. LET US WORK. Key, F. Air--Toiling On. LET us work ! Let us work ! There is much we must do, That the many may prosper Instead of the few ; 18 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY So that he who produces Shall also enjoy The fruits of his labor, With naught to annoy. CHORUS. Come along ! Come along ! Join our throng ! Join our throng ! Let us work and think, Let us hope and pray, And labor till the work is done. Let us work ! Let us work ! With our minds and our will, To restore peace on earth And our mission fulfill. Be not idle, but faithful, For wrong will not right, Except we compel it Then work with your might. CHORUS. No. 23. THEY CALL ME A TRAMP By WENDELL SCHIEL, Los Angeles, Calif., 1893. THEY call me a tramp, and I can not deny That my feet have grown calloused and sore, While aimless I wander, I scarcely know why, Caring little for what is in store. Who cares if my bed is on bare mother earth, And my pillow a weather-worn stone? Nor titles nor rank can I claim in my birth I am one of the millions unknown. I m a " drawer of water, a hewer of wood," Or would be, but toil is denied ; God knows, if there is one, I d work if I could, Rut my brother has pushed me aside. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 19 My millionaire brother, still clutching for more, Forces me^with strong hand to the wall ; He can still buy the law, and with that crush the poor, Reaping harvests of gold as they fall. But the question comes home, will it always be thus ? Will there always be Master and Slave ? Shall the rich man still domineer robbing the poor Of all happiness this side the grave ? From mountain and valley, from river and plain, From the depths of the sea and the sky, Come the answer that Justice shall triumph again A New Era is dawning on high. No. 24. LONELY HEARTS TO CHERISH THERE are lonely hearts to cherish While the days are going by ; There are weary souls who perish While the days are going by ; If a smile we can renew As our journey we pursue, Oh ! the good we all may do While the days are going by. There s no time for idle scorning While the days are going by ; Be our faces like the morning While the days are going by. Oh ! the world is full of sighs, Full of sad and weeping eyes ; Help your fallen brother rise While the days are going by. All the loving links that bind us While the days are going by, One by one we leave behind us While the days are going by ; 20 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY But the seeds of good we sow, Both in shade and shine will grow, And will keep our hearts aglow While the days are going by. No. 25. LIVE FOR SOMETHING LIVE for something ; be not idle, Look about thee for employ ; Sit not down to useless dreaming, Labour is the sweetest joy. Folded arms are never weary, Selfish hearts are never gay ; Life for thee hath many duties Active be, then, while you may. For the heart oppressed and weary, Drop the tear of sympathy ; Whisper words of hope and comfort, Give, and thy reward shall be Joy unto thy soul returning, From this perfect fountain-head ; Freely as thou freely givest, Shall the grateful light be shed. No. 26. GENTLENESS AND MERCY IN gentleness reprove ; In love alone command ; Prevent the helpless orphan s cry, And be the widow s friend. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 21 When anger seeks to rise, Restrain th impetuous flame ; Ne er let thy tongue at random rove, To blast an absent name. Forever scorn deceit ; Think well before you speak ; Whate er a friend in kindness gives, Respect for friendship s sake. Forgive where goodness bids, For equal pleasure flows To him who pardoning mercy finds, And him who mercy shows. No. 27. THE LAW OF LOVE TRENCH M AKE channels for the streams of Love, Where they may broadly run ; And love has overflowing streams. To fill them every one. But if at any time we cease Such channels to provide, The very founts of love for us Will soon be parched and dried. For we must share, if we would keep, That blessing from above ; Ceasing to give, we cease to have ; Such is the law of Love. 22 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 28. SCATTER SEEDS OF KINDNESS LET us gather up the sunbeams, Lying all around our path ; Let us keep the wheat and roses, Casting out the thorns and chaff. Let us find our sweetest comfort In the blessings of to-day, With a patient hand removing All the briars from the way. || : Then scatter seeds of kindness, :|| Then scatter seeds of kindness, For our reaping by-and-by. Strange we never prize the music Till the sweet-voiced bird is flown ! Strange that we should slight the violets Till the lovely flowers are gone ! Strange that summer skies and sunshine Never seem one-half so fair, As when winter s snowy pinions Shake the white down in the air. If we knew the baby fingers, Pressed against the window-pane, Would be cold and stiff to-morrow Never trouble us again Would the bright eyes of our darling Catch the frown upon our brow? Would the prints of rosy fingers Vex us then as they do now? Ah ! those little ice-cold fingers, How they point our memories back To the hasty words and actions Strewn along our backward track ! How those little hands remind us, As in snowy grace they lie, Not to scatter thorns but roses For our reaping by-and-by. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 23 No. 29. OUR ANGEL SIDE NAOMI THERE S good in everything we view, The truth we none can hide, In ev ry heart there s goodness too ; " We ve all our angel side." Although from sight it may be hid By worldliness and pride, Twill show itself when it is bid, This same sweet "angel side." There never yet was found a heart Where virtue all had died ; Twas lurking in some unseen part, " We ve all our angel side." No. 30. LITTLE WORDS OF KINDNESS LITTLE words of kindness, Whispered soft and low With a thrill of gladness To the heart they go, Lighting up the darkness With a cheering ray ; Changing heavy sadness To the light of day. Little words of kindness Do a work of love, Though no hand records them, All their worth to prove They whose words of pity Dry the mourner s tears, Have a lasting blessing Through the coming years. 24 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Little deeds of kindness Heartily bestowed, Help a fainting brother On life s rugged road. Little deeds of kindness To a wandering soul, Like bright stars, may lead him Up to manhood s goal. G No. 31. GENTLE WORDS ENTLE words fall on the heart, Like dew drops on the flower ; They chase our gloom and care away, And cheer the lonely hour. They bid the sinking heart still hope, Revive the drooping breast, And point the weary ones of life To homes of peace and rest. Gentle words fall on the heart, Like music on the ear ; They strew the path of life with flowers, And dry the falling tear ; They are as angel whisperings, From brighter worlds above ; So full of heavenly hope and praise, And sympathy and love. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 25 No. 32. WHEN THE MISTS HAVE CLEARED AWAY WHEN the mists have rolled in splendor From the beauty of the hills, And the sunshine, warm and tender, Falls in kisses on the rills, We may read love s shining letter In the rainbow of the spray ; We shall know each other better When the mists have cleared away. CHORUS We shall know as we are known, Never more to walk alone, In the dawning of the morning, When the mists have cleared away. If we err in human blindness, And forget that we are dust ; If we miss the law of kindness When we struggle to be just ; Snowy wings of peace shall cover All the plain that hides away, When the weary watch is over And the mists have cleared away. CHORUS No. 33. THE BEAUTIFUL RIVER SHALL we gather at the river, Where bright angel feet have trod, With its crystal tide forever Flowing by the throne of God? CHORUS Yes, we ll gather at the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river Gather with our loved at the river That flows by the throne of God. 26 Un the margin of the river, Washing up its silver spray, We will walk and worship ever, All the happy golden day. CHORUS. Yes, we ll gather, etc. No. 34. HOME OF THE SOUL WILL sing you a song of that beautiful land, The far away home of the soul, Were no storms ever beat on the glittering strand, While the years of eternity roll. While the years, etc. 0, that home of the soul, in my visions and dreams Its bright jasper walls I can see : Till I fancy but thinly the veil intervenes Between the fair city and me. Between the fair city, etc. No. 35. NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE NEARER, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee ! E en though it be a cross That raiseth me, Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 27 Tho like a wanderer, The sun gone down, Darkness comes over me, My rest a stone, Yet in my dreams I d be, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee. No. 36. THE SWEET BY AND BY T HERE S a land that is fairer than day, And by faith we can see it afar. For the angels wait over the way, To prepare us a dwelling place there. R CHORUS In the sweet by and by, We will meet on that beautiful shore. In the sweet by and by, We will meet on that beautiful shore. We shall sing on that beautiful shore, The melodious songs of the blest, And our spirits shall sorrow no more, Not a sigh for the blessing of rest. CHORUS No. 37. REJOICE AND BE GLAD EJOICE and be glad, for the spirits have come, From the darkness of death they have lighted our home. 28 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY CHORUS Sing the story ! hallelujah ! sing the story to men. Sing the story ! hallelujah ! repeat it again. Oh, dark was the way o er the river of death, Till the knowledge was brought us to quicken our faith. CHORUS The gateway of death now is lit by your love, And life is less toilsome as onward we move. CHORUS No. 38. LAND OF PURE DELIGHT THERE is a land of pure delight, Where saints immortal reign , Infinite day excludes the night, And pleasures banish pain. There everlasting spring abides, And never-withering flowers ; Death, like a narrow sea, divides This heavenly land from ours. No. 39. HOME OVER THERE o H, think of the home over there, By the side of the river of light ! Where the saints, all immortal and fair, Are robed in their garments of white. Over there, over there ; Oh ! think of a home over there. :|| TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 29 Oh ! think of the friends over there, Who before us the journey have trod ! Of the songs that they breathe on the air In their home in the palace of God ! Over there, over there. Oh think of the friends over there. :|| No. 40. COME, GENTLE SPIRITS Air--Ortonville. COME, gentle spirits, to us now, Look on with tender eyes : Touch your soft hands upon each brow. Sweet spirits from the skies. Come, from your homes of perfect light, Come, from your silvery streams ; Come, from your scenes of joy more bright Than we e er know in dreams. They come, and night is no more night. Pale sorrow s reign is o er ; For death is but a gate of light, And gloomy now no more. No. 41. A PRAYER OME Holy Spirit, heavenly dove, With all thy quickening powers, Kindle a flame of sacred love, In these cold hearts of ours. 30 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 42. CELESTIAL GREETINGS Gospel Hymns No. 29. PEACE be thine, the angels greet thee, Kindred spirit, welcome here ! In their blissful calm they meet thee Shed abroad their loving sphere. Enter, then, the sacred portals ; Here thy heart s pure homage pay ; For the beautiful immortals Worship in our midst to-day. With us all the meeked-voiced angels Reverent and adoring stand, While we hear divine evangels From the soul s great fatherland. Oh ! though sorrow s chain hath bound us, All our griefs shall pass away, For the Father s hand hath crowned us In his glorious courts to-day. No. 43. WE LL MEET BEYOND THE RIVER SHALL we meet beyond the river, Where the surges cease to roll, Where in all the bright forever Sorrow ne er shall press the soul. CHORUS Shall we meet, shall we meet, Shall we meet, shall we meet, Shall we meet beyond the river, Where the surges cease to roll ? TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 31 Shall we meet in that blest harbor. When our stormy voyage is o er, Shall we meet and cast the anchor By the fair celestial shore ? CHORUS No. 44. SWEET COMMUNION GEORGE W. SANFORD I N converse sweet once more we meet With friends on earth we dearly love, Nor deem our happiness complete Without a thought of those above. Not thoughts that would reflect in pain And fill our eyes with scalding tears ; Nor would we wish them back again To dwell with us a few short years. Not thoughts of grief, nor yet of fear, But thoughts of love we would impart ; Methinks we feel their presence near, And heart once more communes with heart. No. 45. GREETING SONG PROM SPIRIT FRIENDS E come our tuneful chorus blending, With joy to greet our friends tonight ; To fill with love each golden moment, That speeds on airy pinions bright. CHORUS We come tonight with melody to greet you, And sing to friends a joyous welcome here. : 11 32 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY We come to fill your hearts with gladness, And chase the clouds of care away, To bring in all their beauty smiling, The hopes of many a by-gone day. CHORUS Tis music wakes our purest feelings, And brightens all our path below, Her choral strains the first to greet us, In yon fair world to which we go. CHORUS No. 46. IF I WERE A VOICE CHARLES MACKAY IF I were a Voice a persuasive Voice That could travel the wide world through, I would fly on the beams of the morning light, And speak to them with a gentle might, And tell them to be true. I d fly, I d fly o er land and sea, Wherever a human heart might be, Telling a tale, or singing a song, In praise of the Right in blame of the Wrong. If I were a Voice a consoling Voice I d fly on the wings of air ; The homes of Sorrow and Guilt I d seek, And calm and truthful words I d speak, To save them from Despair. I d fly, I d fly o er the crowded town, And drop like the happy sunlight, down Into the hearts of suffering men. And teach them to rejoice again. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 33 If I were a Voice a controlling Voice I d travel with the wind ; And whenever I saw the nations torn, By warfare, jealousy, or scorn, Or hatred of their kind, I d fly, I d fly on the thunder crash, And into their blinded bosoms flash, And all their evil thoughts subdued, I d teach them Human Brotherhood. If I were a Voice a pervading Voice I d seek the kings of earth ; I d find them alone on their beds at night, And whisper words that would guide them right- Lessons of priceless worth. I d fly more swift than the swiftest bird, And tell them things they never heard Truths which the ages for aye repeat, Unknown to the statesmen at their feet. If I were a Voice an immortal Voice I d speak in the people s ear ; And, whenever they shouted "Liberty/ Without deserving to be free, I d make their errors clear. I d fly, I d fly on the wings of day, Rebuking wrong on my world-wide way, And make, make all the earth rejoice If I were a Voice an immortal Voice 34 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY PART SECOND CLASSIFIED READINGS GENERAL READINGS IN THE HIGHER THOUGHT AND THE HIGHER LIFE. No. 1. Outline Statement of Beliefs, Sentiments and Ideals Charac terizing the Contents of this Work. I BELIEVE in the Supreme Being, the All-Highest Power 1 and Intelligence, animating, directing, constituting and infilling all things with Wisdom of Design and Be nevolence of Purpose ; incomprehensible, but compre hending All ; and whose Character is made known only so far as it is manifested in the laws, objects, and operations of Nature and the phenomena of the Material and Spirit ual Universe. I believe that in the Higher Attributes of this Supreme Being is embodied the Ideal Perfect to be aspired to for moral and spiritual growth, exaltation and true happiness ; and that the means and methods of this aspiration are the Contemplation, practice and enjoyment of " the True, the Beautiful and the Good," in Nature and in Art, in Silence or in Song, alone or in communion with kindred minds. I believe in the Continuity of Life, a demonstrated im- TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 35 mortality, the curability of evil, the eternity of Good and the infinity of Progress. I believe in the teachings of Experience, the Guidance of Reason and the Supremacy of Conscience as the only true Authority for the Religious Faith and moral Conduct of Mankind. I believe that happiness is the natural result of Virtue and true wisdom, and that misery is the inevitable conse quence of ignorance and vice. I believe that the increase of Knowledge, the prevalence of true Education and the power of unselfish Love, and kind ness are the only efficient Saviors of mankind. I believe in the progress of the Universe, the right eousness of its Laws and the final triumph of Good over Evil for the whole Human Family. I believe in the Universal Brotherhood of man ; the end ing of war in Universal Peace ; the ending of competitive strife in co-operative harmony among men ; and the end ing of all monopoly by giving to all the inhabitants of the earth direct and equal access to the bounties of Nature and the blessings of Civilization ; that is to say, I believe in such a change in the political, social and economic con ditions of human life as will make the golden rule as pos sible and as natural as it is now impossible and unnatural. Finally, I believe in the Universality of Truth and in the utilizing of every important truth and principle in every line and every cult of the Higher Thought and the Higher Life. W. C. BOWMAN. 36 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 2. TWENTIETH CENTURY CREED ELLA WHEELER WILCOX R thoughts are molding unmade spheres, And like a blessing or a curse, They thunder down the formless years, And ring throughout the universe. We build our futures by the shape Of our desires, and not by acts. There is no pathway of escape ; No man-made creeds can alter facts. Salvation is not begged or bought ; Too long this selfish hope sufficed ; Too long man reeked with lawless thought. And leaned upon a tortured Christ. Like shriveled leaves, these worn-out creeds Are dropping from Religion s tree ; The world begins to know its needs, And souls are crying to be free. Free from the load of fear and grief Man fashioned in an ignorant age ; Free from the ache of unbelief He fled to in rebellious rage. No Church can bind him to the things That fed the first crude souls evolved ; For, mounting up on daring wings, He questions mysteries all unsolved. Above the drone of creeds, above The blatant voice of braying doubt, He hears the still, small voice of Love, Which sends its simple message out. T TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 37 And clearer, sweeter, day by day, Its mandate echoes from the skies, " Go roll the stone of self away, And let the Christ within thee rise." No. 3. LIFE IS WHAT WE MAKE IT ELLA WHEELER WILCOX E trouble, I think, with us all, Is the lack of a high conceit. If each man thought he was sent to this spot To make it a bit more sweet, How soon we could gladden the world, How easily right all wrong, If nobody shirked, and each one worked To help his fellows along. Cease wondering why you came Stop looking for faults and flaws. Rise up to-day in your pride and say : " I am part of the First Great Cause ! However full the world, There is room for an earnest man. It had need of me or I would not be, I am here to strengthen the plan." No. 4. JUST THE BEST WE CAN ! ELLA DARE HROUGH the passage of days, and the passage of years, There follows each other the motive, and duty and plan, TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY And though terribly tangled with doubts, and with fears, We ll conquer them all if we do " just the best that we can." " Just the best that we can " is the prayer of our hearts, The best for this moment, this hour, and this day, May the deed that we do, be so perfect in parts We never shall wish it were some other way ! " Just the best that we can " in the place we now fill, No matter how rugged and hard is the place How it hurts us, and pricks us we ll work with a will, Till the glory of working has crowned us with grace. " Just the best that we can" for the great good of all, The world and its legions, our sharers shall be, For the " many in one," is humanity s call, Arousing the races of earth to be free. " Just the best that we can " in the presence of wrong, When harsh words are said, and when harsh deeds are done, There s a force in our souls that is silent and strong, A conquering strength for right to be won ! " Just the best that we can," when the life-sorrows come The parting from loved ones, when hearts are so sore, When the days that are dreary, drag on, one by one, When hopes are all gone, and joys are no more ! " Just the best that we can," for we ll look for the light That s shining through darkness for you and for me, From the land that is clear to the soul s inner sight, Where loved ones are living in God s liberty ! TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 39 No. 5. A LEGEND has come to my mind a legend, a thing I half forgot, And whether I read it or dreamed it ah well, it matters not. It is said that in heaven at twilight a great bell softly swings, And man may listen and harken to the wonderful music that rings, If he puts from his heart s inner chamber all the passion, pain and strife, Heartaches and weary longings that throb in the pulses of life If he thrusts from his soul all hatred, all thoughts of wicked things, He can hear in the holy twilight how the bell of the angel rings. And I think there is in this legend, if we open our eyes to see, Somewhat of an inner meaning, my friend, to you and to me ; Let us look in our hearts and question : " Can pure thoughts enter in To a soul if it be already the dwelling of thoughts of sin?" So then, let us ponder a little ; let us look in our hearts and see If the twilight bell of the angels could ring for you and me. No. 6. THE WORLD IS MINE MILES MENANDER DAWSON E world is mine to live in and enjoy, Is mine to love in and to weep. 40 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Is mine to build upon but not destroy, Is mine to labor in and sleep. The world is mine, my heritage it is ; It is not mine alone ; Who s born of woman, it is also his, His title is my own. Tis more my own than were it given me To hold in undisturbed repose, For me alone, a desert it would be ; Men make it blossom like the rose. And whoso will not for my title fight, Must likewise his resign ; And whoso tramples on another s right Abridges also mine. No. 7. DRAWING THE LINE JOAQUIN MILLER IN men, whom men pronounce as ill, * I find so much of goodness still ; In men, whom men pronounce divine I find so much of sin and blot, I hesitate to draw the line, When God has not. No. 8. ON THE TOP OF THE HILL FLORENCE SHAW KELLOGG LIVE out on the hill-top, In Truth s glorious light ! Drink in the strong sunshine, Nor fear for the right ! TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 41 Tis safe in God s keeping ; Do thou thy brave part, To speed His swift coming To each world-wearied heart. Live, live in the sunlight ! God meant it for thee. In the warmth of His love Be thou happy and free. The way may seem dark, but The light shines beyond The shades which affiright thee, Oh, faint heart and fond. Leave fear all behind thee, Let thy soul have its way ; Trust the God of thy being To lead on to the day. Trust the good everywhere To conquer the ill ; Pitch thy tent in the light On the top of the hill. No. 9. WHEN EVERYTHING GOES WRONG ELLA WHEELER WILCOX IT is easy enough to be pleasant * When life flows by like a song, But the man worth while is the one who will smile When everything goes wrong. 42 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY For the test of the heart is trouble, And it always comes with the years, And the smile that is worth the praises of earth Is the smile that shines through tears. It is easy enough to be prudent When nothing tempts you to stray, When without or within no voice of sin Is luring your soul away. But it s only a negative virtue Until it is tried by fire, And the life that is worth the honor of earth Is the one that resists desire. By the cynic, the sad, the fallen, Who had no strength for the strife, The world s highway is cumbered to-day They make up the items of life. But the virtue that conquers passion, And the sadness that hides in a smile It is these that are worth the homage of earth, For we find them but once in a while. T No. 10. THE UNSEEN CORD ELLA WHEELER WILCOX HERE is an unseen cord which binds The whole wide world together ; Through every human soul it winds This one mysterious tether ; It links all people and all lands Throughout their span allotted. And death alone unites the strands Which God himself has knotted. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 43 Howe er humble be your lot, Howe er your hands be fettered, You cannot think a noble thought But all the world is bettered. With every impulse, deed, or word, Wherein love blends with duty, A message speeds along the cord That gives the earth more beauty. Your unkind thought, your selfish deed, Is felt in farthest places : There are no solitudes where greed And wrong can hide their faces ; There are no separate lives ; the chain, Too subtle for our seeing, Unites us all upon the plane Of Universal Being. No. 11. RETRIBUTION IF there s something that you know about a brother, * Something spiteful, something hurtful you could say; Then I beg you not to do it, You are very sure to rue it, For it will react upon yourself some day. The injustice you inflict upon another, The ingratitude you show unto a friend, Don t forget, on some to-morrow Will return to you in sorrow All will be paid with interest in the end. Don t imagine you can shirk a retribution ; Do not think you can escape a moral debt, He who tramples on his neighbor, He who grinds the face of labor, Can but reap a bitter harvest of regret. You may seek in craven fear for absolution, But your selfishness will render it in vain ; If you think but of evasion, For the evils you occasion, You will find the pain you give returned in pain. I No. 12. THE TONE OF VOICE Youth s Companion T is not so much what you say As the manner in which you say it ; It is not so much the language you use As the tones in which you convey it. The words may be mild and fair, And the tones may pierce like a dart ; The words may be soft as the Summer air, And the tones may break the heart. For the words but come from the mind, And grow by study and art ; But the tones leap forth from the inner self, And reveal the state of the heart. Whether you know it or not Whether you mean or care Gentleness, kindness, love or hate, Envy or anger, are there. Then, would you quarrels avoid And in peace and love rejoice, Keep anger not only out of your words But keep it out of your voice. T TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 45 No. 13. ON A BUTTERFLY CHARLES MUSCETT HE loathsome worm that curls upon yon vine, Will some day be an angel butterfly, And with his wings of aerial shine, Will gaily mount into the summer sky, To soon forget his base mortality, And his low wanderings in the dusty sand. So with our noble spirits who withstand The ills of fate the sorrow of the years ; Aspire, but to virtue, dust behind, They forward mount into Celestial spheres, But all forgetting then that each has been A mortal worm beneath a load of sin. No. 14. IT MUST BE SO HAT somehow good Shall be the final goal of ill, To pangs of Nature, sins of will, Defects and doubts, and taints of blood That nothing walks with aimless feet, That not one life shall be destroyed Or cast as rubbish to the void When God hath made the pile complete. No. 15. WILL V/ OU will be what you will to be ; ^ Let failure find its false content In that poor word " environment," But spirit scorns it, and is free. 46 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY It masters time, it conquers space, It cows that boastful trickster Chance, And bids the tyrant Circumstance Uncrown, and fill a servant s place. Be not impatient in delay, But wait as one who understands ; When spirit rises and commands, The gods are ready to obey. The river, seeking for the sea, Confronts the dam and precipice, Yet knows it cannot fall or miss ; You will be what you will to be. No. 16. BE TRUE TO THY THOUGHT PROF. W. DENTON LIST to thy thought, as its gentle voice greets thee. And, sternly unshrinking, obey its behest ; Heed not the clamor of custom that meets thee ; Still doing thy duty, leave Heaven the rest. Cherish thy thought ; tis a sapling supernal, Transplanted from heaven, to flourish below ; Pood fit for gods it will yield thee eternal ; Neglected, its fruit will be sorrow and woe. Live to thy thought ; be the model God-given, Thy guide, as the soul s walls from day to day rise ! Patiently build, thou shalt see unto heaven A temple of beauty in grandeur arise. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 47 Trust in thy thought ; tis an anchor will hold thee From drifting, when storms of adversity blow ; Compass and chart when night s black clouds enfold thee, While steering thy bark from the islands of woe. Utter thy thought ; see thou lock not the coffer, Thus meanly and miserly hiding it there ; Out with it boldly, not fearing the scoffer, As bright ns the sun, and as free as the air. Follow thy thought ; it will lead to the mountain ; Thy soul shall then bask where the flowers bloom ever, Drink blessed draughts at Felicity s fountain, Rejoicing with friends that no future shall sever. No. 17. OUTWARD PEACE *HE " Peace on earth, good will to men " Of which the Angels sang of yore, Can ne er be heard on earth again Till all have plenty in their store. But strife and conflict will prevail Till equal rights for all are won, And every prayer for peace will fail, Till wrong is dead, and justice done. Thy soul, Justice, now is stirred By these great wrongs that yet endure, And though their end seems long deferred, Twill come at last, though slow tis sure. The reign of despots all shall cease, Such is thy fiat and decree, And thy dominion shall increase Till all the world shall yet be free. 48 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 18. KINGDOM OP HEAVEN WITHIN From " Peace," by Filius Lucis TO the obedient and the ready ; To all those who are willing to understand ; To those wandering in the darkness, and unable to per ceive the Light: Come now, and listen ; Come now, and be made glad ; Enter now into the revelation of Purity : The Master is not perceived by the senses, Not comprehended by the reason, Not realized by argument. Not in the hills, nor in the valleys ; Not in the earth, nor sky, nor any outward thing is the Master to be found. Creeds and schools and books cannot contain Him ; He dwelleth within. Cease from thine outward search, weary one ! Cease from thy wanderings, child of night ! In thine own heart dwelleth the Master ; He is pot hidden from thee but by thyself. The Master is in the inward Voice, The inward Light, The inward Peace. Behold I show you the dwelling-place of the Master, It is a purified heart. He who hath broken the bonds of self ; He who has slain desire ; Whose mind is quiet, conquered, and subdued : Whose heart is calm and mild, and full of peace, He hath entered the presence of the Master ; Unto him the glory of the Master is revealed. thou who criest, and receivest no answer ! TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 49 thou who wanderest, and findest no rest ! thou who searchest, and findest no Light ! Bring hither thy fainting heart ; Bring hither thy blindness ; Come and listen to the instruction that is holy, And, having listened, find satisfaction and rest. There are gods many, and there is one God, Even the All-One, the undefiled, the supremely Perfect ; There are saviours many, and there is One Saviour, Even the supreme enlightment of Wisdom ; There are teachers many, and there is One Teacher, Even the glorious revelation of Righteousness ; There are Masters many, there is one Master, Even the Spirit of Truth ; And God, Saviour, Teacher and Master are One. Plain and unmistakable is the way that leadeth to the Master ; Overcome thyself, this is the way. Purify thy heart, and thou shalt gaze upon the face of the Master. Thou shalt become one with the Master, And shalt dwell with Him in Immortality. The Master waiteth, Yea, eternally waiteth : Patience is His name ; He departeth not from Compassion, And where Righteousness abides, there dwelleth He. Hidden is He in Love ; Come unto Love, and thou shalt find Him. The Light of Wisdom envelopeth Him ; Purify thine understanding, and thou shalt know Him. Who, then, shall see the Master ? Who shall comprehend Him ? Who shall dwell with Him ? 50 Who shall hear His Voice ? Even he who is of a pure heart ; Who is gentle, compassionate, and infinitely patient ; Who returneth meekness for anger, Love for hatred, Forgiveness for abuse, And silence for condemnation. Clothe thyself, therefore, in the Garment of Humility ; Acknowledge thine errors ; Even thine inmost sins ; Thus confessing thyself, thou shalt find the Way of Love; And finding Love thou shalt find the Master ; And finding the Master thou shalt be at rest. Deny thyself ; Subdue thyself ; Conquer thyself ; Let not good will depart from thee ; Be at peace with all ; yea, even with the beasts ; So shall the Highest Truth take up its abode within thee ; Unto thee the Heart of the Master shall be revealed ; Sorrow and suffering and fear and doubt shall flee far from thee, And the knowledge of Immortality shall fill thy heart with peace. No. 19. A CHANGE OF HEART .1. E. M. in Mind I REMEMBER once, some three or four years ago, I L stood on a lonely beach just at sunset. The last of the red rays were setting all the waves on fire and crim soning the side of the sand hills behind me. There was TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 51 hardly a breath of wind to disturb the waters of the bay, and everything but the gun on my shoulder spoke only of peace and quiet. I stood resting, looking out over the water to the other side of the bay where the hills were fast changing from a sober brown to a rich purple. I was completely absorbed in the beauty of the scene, when all at once a tern sailed slowly in range. I raised the gun and fired, and the poor tern, with a broken wing, fell whirling through the air to the water. Wishing to end its misery, I fired another charge, but that fell short, and then, my ammunition being gone, I shouldered my gun and went slowly back over the sand hills, leaving the poor tern to float back and forth on the dark water and utter its mournful cry. In the morning I went to the beach again and found the poor creature, half alive, half dead, dragging itself upon the sand, covered with blood, and its poor broken wing hanging from its body. In mercy I wrung its neck. Never shall I forget the look of those deep, shining black eyes, that seemed to ask only for death and relief from suifering ; eyes that soon glazed over in death, as its pretty head drooped and the body became limp in my hand. From that moment I quit gun ning forever. No. 20. IT IS ALL MINE LUCY LARCOM I DO not own an inch of land, * But all I see is mine The orchards and the mowing fields, The lawns and gardens fine. The winds my tax collectors are ; They bring their tithes to me ; 52 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Wild scents and subtle essences, A tribute rare and free. And more magnificent than all, My window keeps for me A glimpse of blue immensity, A little strip of sea. No. 21. KEEP IT BEFORE THE PEOPLE A. J. H. DUGANNE K EEP it before the people: That the earth was made for man, That the flowers were strewn, And the fruits were grown By the great Creator s plan ; That the sun and rain, And the corn and grain Are yours and mine, my brother Free gifts from heaven, And as freely given To one as well as another. Keep it before the people : That man is the image of God ; Whose limbs or soul Ye may not control With shackle or shame or rod We may not be sold For silver or gold, Neither you nor I, my brother For the land was given Like the life from heaven, To one as well as another. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 53 Keep it before the people : That famine, and crime, and woe, Forever abide Still side by side With luxury s dazzling show ; That Lazarus crawls Prom Dives halls And starves at his gate, my brother Yet the land was given To man from heaven, To one as well as another. Keep it before the people : That laborer claims his need ; The right to the soil And the right to toil, From spurs and bridle freed ; The right to bear, And the right to share With you and me my brother Whatever is given By God in heaven, To one as well as another. No. 22. CANST THOU NOT TRUST ? W. H. EDDY thou not trust ? Why fret and why repine Because the sequence meets not wish of thine ? Ages have traced their panoramic flight, Night followed day and day succeeded night, And years on years succeeding scenes have thrown On earth s grand canvass ere thou yet wast known. Canst thou not trust ? 54 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Canst thou not trust ? Then why essay to live, When all must come from Who hath power to give ? Thy life, thy breath, all that thou hast or art, Come from that source of which thou form st a part, And millions found therein a glad supply Long ere the earth had heard thy feeble cry ; Canst thou not trust ? Canst thou not trust ? Then, farmer, hold thy hand ; Disturb no more the quick responding land- Plant not the seed with hope of harvest s hour Of sunshine s quickening kiss, or freshening shower. But hark ! In all the ages gone before, Each annual harvest hath out-poured its store ; Canst thou not trust ? Canst thou not trust ? Then let no word of thine Go forth to lift thy brother to a place divine ; Grovel in dust, look downward, come what may, And heed naught but the sorrows of today ; Yet through the years man s glory hath been wrought By what of good each day s sweet life hath brought ; Canst thou not trust ? Canst thou not trust when now through all the earth We see the travail of a mighty birth ; Oppression tottering on its downward fall, And Justice sounding forth her trumpet call, And Peace her snowy pinions spreading o er, And Love stands pleading that man war no more ; Canst thou not trust ? Canst thou not trust when hope illumes the way And Faith points ever to the brightening day ? Yes, thou canst trust, for all is safe and sure ; Time s march is ever upward, strong, secure. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 55 For one grand thought are all our thoughts arrayed- In one grand anthem all our parts are played And thou canst trust. No. 23. YOU AND TODAY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX \\/ITH every rising of the sun, Think of your life as just begun. The past has shrived and buried deep All yesterdays ; there let them sleep Nor seek to summon back one ghost Of that innumerable host. Concern yourself with but today, Woo it, and teach it to obey Your will and wish. Since time began, Today has been the friend of man ; But, in his blindness and his sorrow, He looks to yesterday and tomorrow. You and today ! a soul sublime, And the great pregnant hour of time, With God Himself to bind the twain ! Go forth, I say, attain, attain. No. 24. REALITY ROBERT LOVEMAN in Ainslie s Magazine. WHAT care I for caste or creed ? It is the deed, it is the deed ; What for class or what for clan ? It is the man, it is the man ; 56 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Heirs of love, and joy, and woe, Who is high, and who is low ? Mountain, valley, sky and sea, Are for all Humanity. What care I for robe or stole ? It is the soul, it is the soul : What for crown or what for crest ? It is the heart within the breast ; It is the faith, it is the hope, It is the struggle up the slope, It is the brain and eye to see One God and one humanity. No. 25. HUMANITY IS ONE SIR LEWIS MORRIS T^HERE shall come from out this noise of strife and groaning A broader and a juster brotherhood, A deep equality of aim, postponing All selfish seeking to the general good. There shall come a time when each shall to another Be as Christ would have him, brother unto brother. There shall come a time when brotherhood grows stronger Than the narrow bounds which now distract the world ; When cannons roar and trumpets blare no longer, And ironclads rust and battle flags are furled ; When bars of creed and speech and race which sever, Shall be fused in one humanity forever. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 57 No. 26. THE NEW SPIRITUAL DAY Philadelphia Journal IT has not only dawned upon the world, but we are ac- * tually realizing some of its glorious benefits. The power of creeds and dogmas, which has for ages enthralled mankind, is passing into oblivion, and freedom is fast per meating every nation, kindred, people and tongue on this globe. As the new era advances, its " morning stars sing to gether," and its " sons of God shout for joy," as it was recorded they did at the birth of a former era. The beaming star of hope gilds the horizon, and the sun of the new day sheds its brilliant light over a world, driving out fear, and bidding superstition depart, together with all tyranny and oppression. The mountain tops of thought and a disenthralled hu manity are bathed with effulgence, and the hills and valleys reverberate with songs of joy which ascend to heaven from the denizens of the twentieth century because of their awakening to new life, with new conditions, new op portunities and new responsibilities, in the new era, so long hoped for, sung about, and earnestly expected by our grand sires, but never realized in any previous century. The new spiritual day is here. No. 27. COMRADESHIP WALT WHITMAN COME, I will make the continent indissoluble ; I will make divine, magnetic lands, By the love of comrades, by the manly love of comrades. I will plant companionship thick as trees 58 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Along all the rivers of America, And along the shores of the great lakes, And all o er the prairies, I will make cities inseparable, With their arms about each other s necks, With the love of comrades, With the life long love of comrades. No. 28. ATTUNE YOUR HEART LIKE THIS LOWELL make men free from court and throne, Free from the moneychanger s greed, Free from hypocrisy and creed, Free from the dreadful lash of need, And free to reap where they have sown ; Free from earth s scourge, the conqueror ; Free from the murderous lust of war ; Free from the robber s cry of more, And free to have their own ; Free voluntarily to share Their blessings for the common good ; Free to each other s burdens bear In brotherhood and helpfulness ; Free in security to live And seek the blessing of content ; Free in the freedom love can give : The freedom of enlightenment ! To make men free ! It is with me The dearest purpose of my heart, That I may know and do my part To speed the cause of Liberty ; TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 59 My energy and life to be Made consecrate to the one theme, The single purpose and the dream, In every land to make men free To make men free. No. 29. THE DAWN OP PEACE JOHN RUSKIN T)UT off, put off your mail, kings, And beat your brands to dust ! Your hands must learn a surer grasp, Your hearts a better trust. Oh, bend aback the lance s point, And break the helmet bar ; A noise is in the morning wind, But not the note of war. Upon the grassy mountain paths. The glittering hosts increase They come ! They come ! How fair their feet ! They come who publish peace. And victory, fair victory, Our enemies are ours ! For all the clouds are clasped in light, And all the earth with flowers. Aye, still depressed and dim with dew ! But wait a little while, And with the radiant deathless rose The wilderness shall smile. 60 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY And every tender, living thing Shall feed by streams of rest ; Nor lamb shall from the flock be lost, Nor nursling from the nest. No. 30. LIFE S ANTITHESES EDWIN POOLE COLD is the winter wind, that o er the river Comes sweeping on, to blight the flowers we cherished. Warm is the breath of Spring, the new life giver, Restoring to us that we thought had perished. Cold is the wave of death that chills the features And stops the heart that beats for us in love ; Warm are the waves of angel-love, that reach us From hearts still living in the world above. Dark are the tempest clouds that roar and threaten With savage lightning bolts life to destroy ; Bright is the rainbow, in its sombre setting, A harbinger of safety and of joy. Dark are the clouds of sorrow and affliction That shroud us in habiliments of woe ; Bright is the peaceful glow of benediction That only purest love can e er bestow. Harsh is the roar of waves in wild commotion Hurling their mighty force gainst ship and shore ; Soft is the singing lullaby of ocean W T afting the ship that brings our loved ones o er. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 61 Harsh sounds the voice of the death angel, calling Some dearly loved one from our household band, But soft are the tones of sweet affection falling From souls triumphant in the better land. Bitter the hemlock to the ancient teacher As tween his lips was forced the deadly draught, But sweet the waters of immortal nature Which his illumined spirit deeply quaffed. Bitter indeed the cup of heavy sorrow That lips must often drink while here on earth, But sweet the nectar of love s bright tomorrow That ushers us into immortal birth. So to the sense of vision and of hearing, So to the sense of feeling and of taste, We find these great extremes in life appearing, From which a truth can readily be traced. Only through pain can love attain completeness, As darkness proves the wondrous worth of light ; Through bitterness we find the purest sweetness, And wrong, defeated, shows the power of right. No. 31. LOOK CHEERFUL Somerville Journal NO matter how depressed you feel, Look cheerful ! A gloomy face is ungenteel, Look cheerful. Nobody cares about your woes, Each has his sorrows, goodness knows ! 62 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY So why should you your grief disclose ? Look cheerful ! Though you are blue as indigo Look cheerful ! You re prettier when you smile, you know, Look cheerful ! The world abhors a gloomy face, And tales of woe are commonplace, So stir yourself, and take a brace Look cheerful ! NO. 32. EASY TO CRITICISE ELLA WHEELER WILCOX T is easy to sit in the sunshine And talk to the man in the shade ; It is easy to float in a well trimmed boat, And point out the places to wade. But once we pass into the shadows, We murmur and fret and frown ; And our length from the bank, we shout for a plank. Or throw up our hands and go down. It is easy to sit in your carriage And counsel the man on foot ; But get down and walk and you ll change your talk, As you feel the peg in your boot. It is easy to tell the toiler How best he can carry his pack ; But no one can rate a burden s weight Until it has been on his back. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 63 The up-curled mouth of pleasure Can preach of sorrow s worth ; But give it a sip, and a wryer lip Was never made on earth. No. 33. ALL FOR ONE, AND ONE FOR ALL JAMES G. CLARK A LL for one and one for all, ** With an endless song and sweep, So the billows rise and fall On the bosom of the deep Louder in their single speech, More resistless, as they roll, Broader, higher in their reach For their union with the whole. Wheeling systems sink and rise, In one shoreless universe, And forever down the skies, Myriad stars one hymn rehearse, Countless worlds salute the sun, Planets to each other call, Ages into cycles run, All for one and one for all. Kissed by sunshine, dew and shower, Leaping rill and living sod, Sea and mountain, tree and flower, Turn their faces up to God, And one human brotherhood, Pulsing through a thousand lands, Reaches for one common good With its million million hands. 64 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Through all warring seas of life One vast current sunward rolls, And within all outward strife One eternal Right controls, Right, at whose divine command, Slaves go free and tyrants fall, In the might of those who stand All for one and one for all. No. 34. "AS YE WOULD UNTO OTHERS" CHATHAM PLANET IF I could see A brother languishing in sore distress, And I should turn and leave him comfortless When I might be A messenger of hope and happiness, How could I ask to have what I denied, In my own hour of bitterness supplied ? If I might share A brother s load along the dusty way, And I should turn and walk alone that day, How could I dare When in the evening watch I kneel to pray To ask for help to bear my pain and loss, If I had heeded not my brother s cross ? If I might sing A little song to cheer a fainting heart And I should seal my lips and sit apart, When I might bring A bit of sunshine for life s ache and smart How could I hope to have my grief relieved, If I kept silent when my brother grieved ? TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 65 And so I know That day is lost wherein I fail to lend A helping hand to some wayfaring friend ; But if I show A burden lightened by the cheer I send, Then do I hold the golden hours well spent, And lay me down to sleep in sweet content. No. 35. NOT A DREAM ANONYMOUS 1 I OW bright, how sweet, this world would be, If men could live for others ! How sweet, how bright, how full of light, This life, if justice, truth and right Were once enthroned ; if men were free ; If men would all be brothers ! And is this nothing but a dream ? Must wrong go on forever ? Must poverty forever be ? And selfish greed and tyranny ? Must hate and strife be still supreme, And love and peace come never ? No. I will not believe it. No. God still reigns somewhere, brother ; Somewhere, sometime, the race will climb Above its selfishness and crime ; Will gentler, nobler, happier grow, And men will love each other. The morn is rising soft and bright, The way grows light before us. 66 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Cheer, brother, cheer, through doubt, through fear, The world grows brighter year by year ; And fast and bright a day of light Will spread its white wings o er us. No. 36. NIGHT A PART OF NATURE S NEGATIVE POLE ELIZA A. OTIS NIGHT, I long to hide myself within thine arms, To study thee, to look into thy wondrous face, To feel the soothing glory of thy many charms, And wander ever on and on with thee through space. How measureless and vast the skies ye do outspread, Starlighted, planet-filled their wondrous spaces be, In those great deeps we find undimmed above our head The written alphabet of God s infinity. Oh, were it not for thee we should not see the stars, The blinding glory of the sun but hinders sight, Shuts out infinity of space with golden bars, And holds us earth-captives till thou dost come, Night. And so sometimes doth sorrow like the night unfold, Unknown, infinite deeps of God s own loving care, Till holy Trust doth lead us from Doubt s barren cold, And light, and love, and faith, are round us ev ry where. No. 37. UNDER THE WHEELS J. C. COTTON Land of my Fathers, thou home of the blest ! Thou Gem of the Oceans, thou Star of the West ! TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 67 Thou youngest of nations, so stalwart and strong, To Thee will I sing, and my burden of song Shall measure in cadences, plaintive and low, The burdens of men as they come and go. The burdens of men in the unequal strife, In the unequal struggle, the battle of life, How they toil, and labor, and bend and bow Under this load of the here and now ; Under this load as the years go by, Under this load till they droop and die. Thou Land of of my Fathers ! Hast thou plenty in store ? Hast thou corn and wine and fruits as of yore ? Hast thou clothing and shelter enough for all men, Enough for thy millions, enough for All Men ? Then why do the burdens heavier grow, On the shoulders of men, as they come and go ? Then I asked a churchman as he passed along, If he could answer me in my song : " Why are the Masses so scantily fed ? Why do the children go hungry to bed ? Why should they suffer by night and by day ?"- But he piously answered, "Tell the people to pray." To a banker my song I next unrolled, As he sat and counted his piles of gold : " Can you, good sir, my riddle expound, And tell me why in this land are found So many homeless and moneyless men ?"- " Extravagance covers my answer for them." My song unanswered, I turned once more, And this time I entered the College door ; For surely, I said, there is wisdom here, 68 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY To answer the riddles of Sphynx or Sphere. " Good sir," I said, " will you kindly tell What is it has made our earth a hell ? " What is it has robbed the Masses of home, Robbed them and turned them out to roam, Robbed them of money, of shelter and food, Robbed them of everything noble and good, Derided while living, forgotten when dead."- "The Masses were born to be poor," he said. To the merchants and doctors and lawyers I go, Seeking the cause of the people s woe ; Hoping to fathom the secret so dread, That murders the living and curses the dead : The answer of some was to mock and deride, While " the Levites passed on the other side." In silence, I turn me away from the throng, Turn me away with my riddle and song Unanswered ; the secret unknown to the poor, Shut out from their vision, barred out from their door ; No anguish will help them, no prayers can avail, Till they lift the dark curtain and see through the veil ! But at last the veil is torn and rent, And the people begin to see How the chains and shackles are forged for them, And the fetters for ankle and knee Are shaped and fashioned in subtlest way In links of an endless chain That holds them fast in the grip of the law, And they mutter and clamor in vain ! For, under the Law, and over the Law, And stronger than all the Law TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 69 Rolls on the Juggernaut Car of Gold, Rolls on by the help of the law ; Its wheels bespattered with human blood Of the millions under them crushed, Roll on in horrible, heartless roll, Their rumblings are never hushed ; Nor day, nor night, for months and years, Long centuries come and go, And still the Juggernaut wheels roll on As they did in the long ago ! On the walls the watchman sitting, through the long, dread night of fear, Sees the faint, gray streaks of dawning, where the morn should first appear. Long he looks, he looks and wonders, wonders if this vision dim Is indeed the glad forerunner of the full-orbed light of Him Who in ages past hath told us He will come again to earth, Come with sickle and with binders, come, but not to manger birth ; Come to gather in His harvest, " of the least of these His own," Come to claim His every brother and His neighbor as His own ; Come to free the tired captive, shake the tyrant from his throne, Come to reap the full fruition of the Harvest he has sown ! 70 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 38. MAKE YOUR HEAVEN GEORGE H. HEPWORTH, New York Herald THERE can be no heaven without a heavenly frame of mind. Your environment is a mere detail in the prob lem of happiness, your mental attitude being the element of chief importance. If you are overcritical, oversuspic- ious, uncharitable in judgment, you would be miserable and would deserve to be miserable, even though you were enveloped in eternal sunshine and lived amid tropical splendor. On the other hand, if you are generous with your sympathy, helpful because you find satisfaction in being so, and have trained your eyes to look for the good rather than the evil in the world, you will create the bless ings for which you pray, and impart encouragement and hopefulness, even though the sunshine gives way to shadow, and the air you breathe is misty with tears. Each man is a little world, and he governs it as dictator. I had almost said that each man creates his own world, and in a certain sense this is true. Its prosperity, its contentment, its happiness depend, (and I say this with all due reverence,) more on himself than on God. My meaning is plain. God has supplied all the material for a successful career, and has done so with lavish affection. The mission of the man is to use this material and to use it in the right way. He can do so, or he may refuse to do so. He is, therefore, master of his own destiny. He is like a workman to whom an architect has given the plan of a building which will shelter him from inevitable storms, and furnished him with everything necessary for its con struction, but who must himself do the work. If he labors faithfully he will soon have a house in which he will re joice and of which he may be proud, but if he does no work he will have no house, and when the tempest comes. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 71 and he is unprepared for it he must not say that God s favoritism gives all to one and nothing to another, for it is his own fault that he is homeless. . He has had the abil ity, but not the inclination to provide for himself, and is simply reaping a crop from the seed which he planted with his own hand. If you want heaven, therefore, you must make it for yourself. You can render life very hard and intolerable by thinking along the wrong lines, just as a boatman makes his journey hard by pulling against the stream. He who has the habit of constantly complaining, who grumbles because things are awry, but does nothing to set them right, whose attitude toward life is that of the fault-finder, can no more be happy than he who gashes himself and then wonders why he is wounded. The world is beautiful to him who looks for beauty, but nothing is beautiful to one who insists on sitting in the shadow and brooding over the ills from which he suffers. It is possible to be wretched in the most fortunate sur roundings, and equally possible to be serene and blest in adversity and sorrow. The heart and mind are the ma gicians who make or mar our lives, and the outlook of mind and heart is largely our product. We can control them both to a very great extent. There are some thoughts which it is as fatal to cherish as it is to swallow poison ; some thoughts which produce spiritual indigestion, with all the painful consequences thereof. They are to be avoided as evil companions are to be avoided. You have no more right to indulge in them, in a world like this, provided as it is with every oppor tunity to grow godlike, than you have to make your home in a dark, damp cave on the mountain side and declare that your fate is hard and there is no sunshine anywhere. I like to believe that I am captain of the ship in which TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY I am sailing toward eternity. The dignity, the grandeur of human nature, is worth thinking about. You are not driftwood, at the mercy of the current. You have the stars above you, and even the stormy ocean is the path way to heaven. Faith in God, His wisdom and love ; faith in the Christ as the expounder of a philosophy of cheerful endurance and peaceful resignation ; faith in the possibil ity of finding in all experiences a stepping stone to higher things ; above all, faith in that immortality which will give back the lost and provide wider spheres of usefulness to the ever growing soul these thoughts will make us wealthy in spite of our poverty and fill us with that se rene joy which is sometimes hidden beneath a sorrow. They are pearls of great price, and they are within your reach if you will make an effort to possess them. You can darken or brighten your life by the standpoint from which you look at it. This life amounts to nothing unless you can see the looming of another life on the horizon. No. 39. IMMORTALITY LORD BACON I KNOW not of what good fate my thoughts have been, always fixed upon things to come, more than upon things present. These I know by certain experience to be but trifles ; and if there be nothing more considerable to come, the whole being of man is nothing better than a trifle. But there is room enough before us, in what we call eternity, for great and noble scenes ; and the mind of man feels itself lessened and straightened in this low and narrow state, and wishes and waits to see something greater. And if it could discern another world coming. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 73 on this side of eternal life, a beginning glory, the best which earth can bear, it would be a kind of immortality to enjoy that prospect beforehand, to see, when this the atre is dissolved, where we shall act next, and what parts, what saints and heros, if I may say so, will appear on that stage, and with what lustre and excellency. How easy it would be, under a view of these futurities, to despise the little mops and honors, and the momentary pleasures of mortal life. No. 40. PEACE JAMES R. TOWNSEND A NOTHER Christmas-tide is here, ** It bears remembrance of a day To human senses far away When Peace had reign through all our sphere. When Peace had laid her gentle hand Upon the murderous arm of State, And bade the fierce impulses wait Fair Shiloh s landing on earth s strand. And we have heard how angels sang When once the howling dogs of war Were stilled and Discord s deafening jar Hushed while o er earth the heaven tones rang. Why is mankind to man unkind ? Why e er unleashed is War s fierce pack And set to yell along the track Where nations speed before the wind ? Why turns the ruler s thought to strife And deeds of war and clash of arms ; 74 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Despising fields that are but farms And only bring forth fruits of life ? Ambition s horizon, how small ! How short its measure is, for man ! Who knows not that in Nature s plan The sordid and the gross must fall ? The better art of life is peace, With man conjoined for useful deeds ; And to this end the Christ thought leads To Wisdom s rule when War s arts cease. No. 41. THE DAWN OF LIBERTY REV. B. FAY MILLS HE new time has come like a thief in the night, or bet ter, like the dawning of the day. With little herald ing of trumpets, without observation by many of the mighty and wise and noble ; silently, irresistibly, brightly as the morning it has come. A new term in the universal formula has heen discovered and is forcing on us a new expression of religion, education and politics, and a- new social and industrail development. In this dawn it is " bliss to be alive ; to be young is simply heaven." The new term, stated in philosophical language, is Al truism ; scientifically, it is called Uniformity of Law ; in social expression, it is Brotherhood ; in politics, Democ racy ; in industry and commerce, Co-operation ; in educa tion, Progress ; and in religion, Love. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 75 No. 42. THE VOICE OF THE TIME CHARLES MACKAY 1-1 ARK to the throbbing of thought * In the breast of the wakening world ! Over land, over sea it hath come ! The serf that was yesterday bought, Today his defiance has hurled No more in his slavery dumb And tomorrow will break from the fetters that bind, And lift a bold arm for the rights of mankind ! Hark to the voice of the time ! The multitude think for themselves, And weigh their condition, each one ; The drudge has a spirit sublime ; And whether he hammers or delves, He reads when his labor is done ; And learns, tho he groans under penury s ban, That freedom to think is the birthright of man. The voice of opinion has grown ; Twas yesterday changeful and weak, Like the voice of a boy ere his prime ; Today it has taken the tone Of an orator worthy to speak, Who knows the demand of his time, And tomorrow will sound in oppression s cold ear Like the trump of the seraph to startle our sphere. Be wise, oh, ye rulers of earth, And close not your ears in vain ; True freedom of yesterday s birth Will march on its way find rejoice, And never be conquered again. 76 The day hath a tongue, aye, the hours utter speech ; Wise, wise will ye be if ye learn what they teach. No. 43. A SONG. LABOR IN WANT CAN you give any reason how it came about, That my children are dyin for bread, When I ve worked all my life and am nearly played out, Tryin hard to get somethin ahead ? There is some folks I know of that hain t done a tap, And they ride in their carriage and four. And have got so much wealth they don t know where they re at, While the toilers are ragged and poor, CHORUS : Too proud to beg, too honest to steal, I know what it is to be wanting a meal. When I ask for work, they call me a tramp, Or say I m a " Shabby Genteel." When they foreclosed the mortgage and took the old home, It was sad to lay mother away ; And I couldn t keep from thinking of what would become Of poor Bessie and Bennie and May, For I m getting old now, and my work s nearly done Upon whom will my darlin s depend ? Without clothin or food, without friends or home, Will the millionaire care for them then ? CHORUS TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 77 No. 44. BEFORE I KNEW New York Journal 1I> EFORE I knew, I was so gay, *-* Life seemed one long, perpetual May, I was so gay, I was so glad, I gave the world the joy I had. I sang, for it was always Spring Joy blossomed out of everything : The earth so green, the sky so blue Before I knew ! Before I knew ! Before I knew, I had no fear, For heaven was always strangely near ; I laughed or sighed the happy while And nestled in my mother s smile. I never dreamed that life was sad ; I thought God made us to be glad ; I loved the world, I thought it true, Before I knew ! Before I knew ! Oh ! laughing light of sunny Spring, Come back ! Come back, oh, everything ! Come back, my childish faith in man, Come back, the lovely way I ran ! The gay, glad heart, the simple trust, (Whose root was planted in the dust), Beat, grow again, as once you grew, Before I knew ! Before I knew ! 78 No. 45. A TEXT. GOD WORKS FOR ALL GOD works for all. Ye cannot hem The hope of being free With parallels of latitude With mountain range and sea. Put golden padlocks on Truth s lips, Be callous as you will, From soul to soul o er all the world Leaps one electric thrill. No. 46. THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM A. P. BROWN \\ /E are living, we are moving In a grand and solemn time ; Midst the marshalling of forces For a conflict all sublime. Institutions old and sacred To the trial soon must come ; Questioned now in every quarter, Questioned in the church and home. Questioned in the field and forest, Questioned in the lecture room ; Questioned by the high and lowly, Questioned now for final doom. Ages dim and long forgotten ; Ages ere historic time Saw the earth in preparation For a product most sublime. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 79 Out of earth his every atom ; On the earth his mortal life ; To the earth his dust returning ; On the earth his loves and strife. In the midst of circling planets Blazing suns of ancient birth ; Head among the constellations, Feet forever linked to earth. Watch his course thro all the ages, Scan his works and scan his flights ; Ever seeking evolution ; Ever climbing higher heights. Tell me, then, besotted tyrant ; Tell me, landlord, hard and cold ; Tell me, crafty politician, Will your gyves forever hold ? Not much longer, not forever Shall your incantation hold. Pack your goods and vanish ever, Leave your sheaving of the fold. Free in thought now and forever Free to use our mother s land This is what our mother nature Planted in the soul of man. Through the cause of evolution Through the ages yet to be, This is pressing for solution Only this can make men free. 80 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 47. TRUE NOBILITY CHARLES SWAIN V17HAT is noble ? to inherit Wealth, estate, and proud degree ? There must be some other merit Higher yet than these for me ! Something greater far must enter Into life s majestic span, Fitted to create and centre True nobility in man. What is noble ? Tis the finer Portion of our mind and heart, Linked to something still diviner Than mere language can impart : Ever prompting ever seeing Some improvement yet to plan ; To uplift our fellow being, And, like man, to feel for man ! No. 48. LIFE AND LABOR FREDERICK P. STRONG though the Skies be gray Laugh all the clouds away ; Life s but a fitful day ; Evening will come straightway, And bring repose. Gladly then, take thy share Of the World s pain and care ; Bravely thy burdens bear ; TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 81 They shall grow light as air When Life shall close. Amid Earth s mist and murk Powers of Darkness lurk, Tempting thy Soul to shirk, And to neglect its work From day to day. Be, then, in Labor s Van ; Work is God s gift to Man, Through which Creation s plan, Like a vast Caravan, Moves on its way. Time sweeps our lives, like straw, Into Death s hungry maw ; Yet tis but Nature s Law, From which our souls shall draw Lessons of Truth. Out from Earth s darksome night, Death speeds us on our flight Upward, through Realms of Light, Home to the Fatherland, of bright Immortal Youth. No. 49. THE REFORMER JOHN G. WHITTIER A LL grim and soiled and brown with tan, ** I saw a Strong One, in his wrath, Smiting the godless shrines of man Along his path. 82 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY The church, beneath her trembling dome, Essayed in vain her ghostly charm ; Wealth shook within her gilded home With strange alarm. Fraud from his secret chambers fled Before the sunlight bursting in : Sloth drew her pillow o er her head To drown the din. " Spare," Art implored, " yon holy pile ; That grand, old, time-worn turret spare ;" Meek Reverence, kneeling in the aisle, Cried out" Forbear." Grey-bearded Use, who, deaf and blind, Groped for his old accustomed stone, Leaned on his staff and wept to find His seat o erthrown. Young Romance raised his dreamy eyes, O er hung with paly locks of gold " Why smite," he asked in sad surprise, "The fair, the old?" Yet louder rang the Strong One s stroke, Yet nearer flashed his ax s gleam ; Shuddering and sick at heart, I woke, As from a dream. I looked. Aside the dust-cloud rolled The Waster seemed the Builder, too. Up springing from the ruined Old, I saw the New. Twas but the ruin of the bad The wasting of the wrong and ill ; TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 83 Whate er of good the old time had, Was living still. Calm grew the brows of him I feared ; The frown which awed me passed away, And left behind a smile which cheered Like breaking day. Grown wiser from the lesson given, I fear no longer, for I know That where the plow is deepest driven, The best fruits grow. The outworn rite, the old abuse, The pious fraud, transparent grown, The good held captive in the use Of wrong alone. These wait their doom, from the great law Which makes the past time serve to-day, And fresher life the world shall draw From their decay. God works in all things ; all obey His first propulsion from the night. Wake thou and watch ! the world is grey With morning light. No. 50. FROM THE CITY STREETS JOHN BOYLE O REILLY civilization, so they say, And it cannot be changed for the weakness of men, Take care, take care, tis a desperate way To goad the wolf to the end of his den. 84 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Take heed of your civilization, ye, On your pyramids built of quivering hearts ; There are stages like Paris in 93, Where the commonest men play most terrible parts Your statutes may crush, but they cannot kill The patient sense of a natural right. It may slowly move, but the people s will, Like the ocean o er Holland is always in sight. " It is not our fault," say the rich ones. No, Tis the fault of a system, old and strong ; But the men are makers of systems ; so The cure will come if we own the wrong. It will come in peace, if Right s in the lead ; It will sweep in storm, if it be denied ; The law to bring justice is always decreed, And on every hand are the warnings cried. Take heed of your progress ! its feet have trod On the souls it slew with its own population ; Submission is good ; but the order of God May flame the torch of a new revelation. Beware with your classes ! Men are men, and a cry in the night is a fearful teacher; When it reaches the heart of the masses Then they need but a sword for a judge and preacher. Take heed, for your juggernaut pushes hard ; God holds the doom that its day completes ; It will dawn like a fire when the track is barred By a barricade in the City Streets. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 85 No. 51. WE FORGET ADA FOSTER MURRAY O many tender words and true We meant to say, dear love, to you ; So many things we meant to do, But we forgot. The busy days were full of care : The long night fell all unaware ; You passed beyond love s pleading prayer, While we forgot Now evermore through heart and brain There breathes an undertone of pain ; Though what has been should be again, We would forget. We feel, we know, that there must be, Beyond the veil of mystery, Some place where love can clearly see And not forget. No. 52. A VISION OF JUSTICE JAMES G. CLARK I SEE a mighty feast outspread, Where gilded lords their honors wear, The banquet king sits at their head, The guests are drunk on vintage rare, And far below on every side, No more by cringing fear subdued, And, murmuring like a rising tide, I see a countless multitude. 86 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY As rivers in the ocean roll, All tongues and races join the throng, One purpose burning in each soul And on their lips a single song. One common cause, one flag unfurled, They kneel to neither kith nor clan, Their country is the round, wide world, Their creed the brotherhood of man. The feast goes on. The proud rejoice : They hear a sound of distant waves, And think it but the torrent s voice Complaining through the highland caves. It is no mountain stream that leaps Rebellious of its rocky bands ; It is the lifting of the deeps, The sinking of the ancient lands. Resistless as the pulse of doom, The ocean swings from shore to shore, And frightened kings flit through the gloom Like stars that fall to rise no more. The high sea walls of caste are gone, The pent up floods their chains have burst, The toilers face the golden dawn, The first are last, the last are first. The old goes down. The new ascends. The sunny isles in glory rise ; A rainbow o er the deluge bends, And labor curse dissolves and dies. The gods of gold no more hold sway ; The people bow to truth alone ; And He whose voice the tides obey Remains forever with his own. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 87 No. 53. READING FROM HIGHER LIFE I NSPIRE me, oh, thou fountain ever free * To those who strive to grasp immensity. Ye waves of wisdom sought in every land, My heart inspire, my very soul command : Enlarge my vision and my thoughts inspire, That truth may speak like purifying fire ; That deeper knowledge of the scenes of earth May fill my soul with light, and thus give birth To greater wisdom of a higher sphere, Where every soul must for itself appear. Inspire me, then, while earthly senses sleep, And in abeyance every discord keep ; That thought and word may glow with piercing light, To quell the gloom of superstition s night. No. 54. MY COUNTRY ROBERT WHITAKER J%/| Y country is the world ; I count * * * No son of man my foe, Whether the warm life currents mount And mantle brows like snow, Or red, or yellow, brown or black, The face that into mine looks back. My native land is Mother Earth, And all men are my kin, Whether of rude or gentle birth, However steeped in sin ; Or rich, or poor, or great, or small, I count them brothers, one and all. 88 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY My flag is the star-bespangled sky, Woven without a seam, Where dawn and sunset colors lie, Fair as an angel s dream ; The flag that still, unstained, untorn, Floats over all of mortal born. My party is all human kind, My platform, brotherhood ; I count all men of honest mind Who work for human good, And for the hope that gleams afar, My comrades in this holy war. My heroes are the great and good Of every age and clime, Too often mocked, misunderstood, And murdered in their time, But spite of ignorance and hate, Known and exalted soon or late. My country is the world, I scorn Not lesser love than mine, But calmly wait that happy morn When all shall own this sign ; And love of country, as of clan, Shall yield to world-wide love of man. No. 55. THE BLIND DISCIPLE PRISCILLA LEONARD ONE knelt within a world of care And sin, and lifted up his prayer : " I ask thee, Lord, for health and power To meet the duties of each hour ; TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 89 For peace from care, for daily food, For life prolonged and filled with good ; I praise thee for thy gifts received, For sins forgiven, for pains relieved, For near and dear ones spared and blessed, For prospered toil and promised rest. This prayer I make in His great name Who for my soul s salvation came." But as he prayed, lo! at his side Stood the thorn-crowned Christ, and sighed "0 blind disciple came I then To bless the selfishness of men? Thou askest health amidst the cry Of human strain and agony, Thou askest peace, while all around Trouble bows thousands to the ground ; Thou askest life for thine and thee, While others die ; thou thankest me For gifts, for pardon, for success. For thy own narrow happiness. " Not in my name thy prayer was made, Not for my sake thy praises paid. My gift is sacrifice : my blood Was shed for human brotherhood ; And till thy brother s woe is thine Thy heart-beat knows no throb of mine. Come, leave thy selfish hopes, and see Thy birthright of humanity ! Shun sorrow not ; be brave to bear The world s dark weight of sin and care ; Spend and be spent, yearn, suffer, give, And in thy brethren learn to live." 90 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 56. A GOODBYE IS A LITTLE THING Me Call s Magazine A GOODBYE is a little thing, ** With your hand on the door to go, But it takes venom out of the sting Of a thoughtless word, or a cruel fling, That you made an hour ago. A kiss of greeting is sweet and rare After the toil of day, And it smooths the furrows plowed by care, The lines on the forehead you once called fair In the years that have flown away. Tis a little thing to say, " You are kind ; I love you, my dear," each night ; But it sends a thrill through the heart, I find For love is tender, as love is blind As we climb life s rugged height. We starve each other for love s caress ; We take, but we do not give ; It seems so easy some soul to bless, But we dole the love grudgingly less and less, Till tis bitter and hard to live. No. 57. WE WANT NO KINGS O where I will, I hear a sound Like sullen thunder shake the ground, And, as I listen half in fear, The sounds swell louder and more near TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 91 A sound of protest from the throngs Grown weary of their cruel wrongs, Again I listen thrilled and stirred, I catch its purport, word for word, As loud, and louder yet it rings " We want no kings, we want no kings!" The world has grown too wise and old For monarchs with their crowns of gold, And commerce has too many ports For noblemen to mince through courts. Humanity has grown too wide To let us now for queens provide. Too weighty issues are at hand To maintain princes in our land. And thought has grown too bold and free To let us longer bend the knee To any man, unless he fights For justice, truth and common rights The rights of labor to its hire The rights of toilers to aspire To something better than befalls The beasts of burden in their stalls The rights of all paid slaves to rise Against all crowned monopolies That rob the tiller of the soil Of honest proceeds of his toil, That steal the poor man s flour and sack, And grinds him till he buys them back At twice their value ! Down, we say, With these false kings who rule the day, With freedom s voice the welkin rings, " We want no kings, we want no kings !" 92 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 58. WORK HENRY VAN DYKE LET me but do my work from day to day, In field or forest, at desk or loom, In roaring market place, or tranquil room ; Let me but find it in my heart to say, When the vagrant wishes beckon me astray, " This is my work, my blessing, not my doom ; Of all who live, I am the one by whom This work can best be done, in the right way." Then shall I see it not too great, nor small, To suit my spirit and to prove my powers ; Then shall I cheerful greet the laboring hours, And cheerful turn, when the long shadows fall At eventide, to play and love and rest, Because I know for me my work is best. No. 59. THE GREAT CHAIN OF PROTEST ELLA WHEELER WILCOX ^^HE purpose of the hour is vast, The world wants justice ; it demands United hearts, united hands ; The day of charity is past. Men have outgrown the worthless creed Which bade them deem it God s good will That labor sweat and starve to fill And glut the purse of idle greed. They have outgrown the poor content That breeds oppression. Forged by pain. Mind links to mind in one great chain TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 93 Of protest and of argument. And by the hand of progress hurled, This mighty chain of human thought, In silence and in anguish wrought, Encompasses the pulsing world. And he who will not form a link Of new conditions soon to be, Ere long must stand aghast and see Old systems toppling down the brink. They cannot and they shall not last The broader impulse of the day Will gain and grow and sweep away The rank injustice of the past. More labor for the selfish few, More leisure for the burdened class, These things shall surely come to pass As old conditions change to new They change through toil and strain and strife; Work for all men, for all men rest, And time to taste the joys of life. No. 60. NEW MEN FOR NEW TIMES JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL 1VJEW times demand new measures and new men ; * ^ The world advances, and in time outgrows The laws that in our fathers days were best ; And, doubtless, after us, some purer scheme Will be shaped out by wiser men than we, Made wiser by the steady growth of truth. We cannot take Utopia on by force ; But better, almost, be at work in sin Than in a brute inaction browse and sleep. 94 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY The time is ripe, and over ripe, for change ; Then let it come ; I have no dread of what Is called for by the instinct of mankind ; Nor think I that God s world will fall apart Because we tear a parchment more or less. Let us speak plain ; there is more force in names Than most men dream of ; and a lie may keep It s throne a whole age longer, if it skulk Behind the shield of some fair-seeming name. Let us call tyrants tyrants, and maintain That only freedom comes by grace of God, And all that comes not by His grace must fall ; For men in earnest have no time to waste In patching fig leaves for the naked truth. No. 61. CLEAR THE WAY CHARLES MACKAY 7%/f EN of thought, be up and stirring night and day ; ^ * *-Sow the seed, withdraw the curtain, clear the way; Men of action, aid and cheer them as ye may ; There s a fount about to stream, There s a light about to beam, There s a warmth about to glow, There s a flower about to blow, There s a midnight blackness changing into gray ; Men of thought and men of action, clear the way. Once the welcome light has broken, who shall say What the unimagined glories of the day? What the evil that shall perish in its ray? Aid the dawning, tongue and pen. Aid it, hopes of honest men, TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 95 Aid it, paper ; aid it, type ; Aid it, for the hour is ripe, And our earnest must not slacken into play ; Men of thought and men of action, clear the way. Lo ! a cloud s about to vanish from the day, And a brazen wrong to crumble into clay ; Lo ! the Right s about to conquer. Clear the way ; With that Right shall many more Enter smiling at the door. With the giant Wrong shall fall Many others, great and small, That for ages long have held us for their prey : Men of thought and men of action, clear the way. No. 62. RING ! 0, EASTER BELLS KATE R. STILES RING ! 0, Easter bells ring clear ! Sound upon life s atmosphere The glad news the dead are here ! Bloom ! 0, Easter flowers ! bloom sweet ! Shed your fragrance ! it is meet, As we our beloved greet ! Sing, earth, the glad refrain, Death, the conqueror, is slain ! Life, immortal life doth reign ! Swell the song, ye angel bands ! Let it echo o er all lands ! Death is vanquished Life commands ! 96 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY They have ris n ! a deathless throng, Come to join us in our song Praises to the day belong. Ring ! ring joyously, ye bells ! Sound your loudest, clearest swells, To the earth s remotest dells ! Bloom, Easter flowers, bloom fair ! Angels to the earth repair ! Greet them with your fragrance rare. No. 63. QUICK ! QUICK ! HUGO QUICK, quick, thinkers ! Let the human race breathe. Shed abroad hope, sow the ideal, do good. One step after another, horizon after horizon, conquest after conquest; because you have given what you promised, do not hold yourself quit of obligation. To perform is to promise. To day s dawn pledges the sun for tomorrow. Let nothing be lost. Let not one force be isolated. Every one to work ! the urgency is supreme. No more idle art. Poetry the worker of civilization what could be more admirable ? The dreamer should be a pioneer ; the strophe should mean something. The beautiful should be at the service of honesty. I am the valet of my con science ; it rings for me ; I come. " Go." I go. What do you require of me, Truth ! sole monarch of this world ? Let each one have within him an eagerness for well-doing. A book is sometimes looked forward to for succor. An idea is a balm ; a word may be a dressing for wounds ; poetry is a physician. Let no one delay. While TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 97 you tarry, suffering man grows weaker. Let men throw off this dreamy laziness. Leave hashish to the Turks. LET MEN LABOR FOR THE WELFARE OF ALL ; let them rush forward, and put themselves out of breath. Do not be sparing of your strides. Let nothing remain useless. No inertia. What do you call dead nature ? Everything lives. The duty of all is to live. To walk, to run, to fly, to soar such is the universal law. What are you waiting for ? Ah ! there are times when one might wish to hear the stones cry out against the sluggishness of man. No. 64. DUTY JHPIS not by dreaming and delay, * But doing something every day, That wins the laurel and the bay, And crowns the work of duty. Be satisfied that thou art right, And that thy deed will bear the light, Then execute it with thy might, For that will be thy duty. In Nature s boundless universe, Thou wilt not see that dreadful curse, An atom to its work averse, An idler shirking duty. The planets as they roll on high, The river as it rusheth by, For ever and for ever cry, " On, man, and do thy duty !" 98 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY All, all is working everywhere, In earth, in heaven, in sea, and air, And nothing indolent is there To mar the perfect duty. No. 65. WHAT SHALL BE JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS A LOFTIER race ** Than e er the world hath known shall rise With flame of freedom in their souls, And light of science in their eyes. They shall be pure from fraud, and know The names of priest and king no more ; For them no placeman s hand shall hold The balances of peace and war. They shall be gentle, brave and strong, To spill no drop of blood, but dare All that may plant man s lordship firm On earth and fire and sea and air. Nation with nation, land with land, Unarmed shall live as comrades free ; In every heart and brain shall throb The pulse of one fraternity. They shall be simple in their homes And splendid in their public ways, Filling the mansions of the state With music and with rhymes of praise. In aisles majestic, stately halls, Groves, gardens, bath and galleries, TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 99 Manhood and youth and age shall meet To grow by converse only wise. Woman shall be man s mate and peer In all things strong and fair and good, Still wearing on her brow the crown Of sinless, sacred motherhood. High friendship, hitherto unknown, Or by great poets half divined, Shall burn, a steadfast star, within The calm, clear ether of the mind. New arts shall bloom of loftier mould, More heavenly music thrill the skies, And every life shall be a song When all the earth is paradise. These things they are no dream shall be For happier days when we are gone ; Those golden days for them shall dawn Transcending aught we gaze upon. No. 66. THE NEED OF LOVE G. H. GIBSON ALONE, unloved, we live, And heaviest burdens bear ; For whether in strife we gain or give, There is always want and care. We cannot with gold control, We cannot with things supply The inmost need of soul for soul, The heart s deep hunger cry. 100 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY For things, for power, we strain As men who would grasp a crown But all of our gain is loss and pain For those whom we trample down. And evil and loss return, With never a glad surcease, To those who spoil the hands of toil, And so their wealth increase. Shall men be less than things, And ever the strife go on ? The struggle for power results in kings., But never a heart is won. The service of slaves ah me ! Twere better by far to gain One single heart, than rule the mart, And so, unloved, to reign. As love is born of love, And spirit alone has worth, Whoever will love, like those above, Begins to redeem the earth. In giving, is all of gain ; In loving, is all of good ; And hearts in pain in strife and strain Are crying, with tears and blood. No. 67. ALL RELIGION ONE W. J. COLVILLE A LL seers and sages at the first, ** Have felt and thought of power supreme, Thro nature s outward lights and shades, They traced life s changing cloud and beam. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 101 But in their inmost selves they traced The working of benignant law, And from this consciousness sublime All prophets inspiration draw. There are no limits born of age, Or place, that can the spirit thrall ; For revelation unconfined Is granted to the nations all. Each race, each peroid, has received The food adapted to its need ; And in the living present too The bread of life mankind doth feed. The rainbow arch which spans the sky, The seven colors we percieve, Are types of that interior state In which all souls perforce believe. And when the Rainbow Bridge is crossed, Valhalla gained, as Norsemen say, The splendor of unclouded light Will unto all its beams display. When Egypt s pyramids were framed, When India s temples rose in strength, When Greece unfolded poesy, When Christ appeared on earth at length, When Hebrew prophets sang of peace Amid discordant strife around, Thro all those varied ministries . Shone forth God s love from depth profound. The Buddhas who to India came, Confucius who did China bless, The Parsee teachers, to whom flame Is sign of inward righteousness, 102 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY All speak with one accordant voice, Tho differing dialects they know ; The all same Spirit works thro all, Its radiance on all paths to throw. Send forth true missionary souls Let them with holy ardor teach The one religion veiled in all The many creeds the teachers preach. Speak to all nations, and declare The law and gospel of pure love, And show all bodies how to move In union with the souls above. God speaks to all, thro all, alway ; And if men different accents trace, It is because the truth revealed Adapted is to time and place. Accommodated to men s needs, The perfect rays of truth must be Thro prism broken, but itself Can never part from unity. If light shows red and blue and gold, The three in one, the one in three, May but reveal to human sight, Both unity and trinity. And if again the sevenfold light Shines thro the prism, all agree That tho divided here on earth, Light ever is a unity. The one religion that will bind All peoples in a common band, Making all wars on earth to cease, And the wide world one fatherland ; TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 103 Is that interior thought of God, And thought of man that teaches well The unity of the pure life Which doth in every being dwell. Let outward differences fade, Let s find the spirit shrined in all, And soon the nations will agree To let their various idols fall. Seek for the best in every creed ; Seek for the noblest in each life ; And the one God of perfect love Will be revealed ; thus perish strife. No. 68. TO THE REFORMER EDWIN MARKHAM INHERE comes a pitiless cry from the oppressed * A cry from the toilers of Babylon for their rest. Reformer, thou art holden with a vow : The light of higher worlds is on thy brow, And Freedom s star is soaring in thy breast ; Go, be a dauntless voice, bugle cry In darkening battle when the winds are high A clear, sane cry, wherein the God is heard To speak to men the one redeeming word : No peace for thee, no peace, Till blind oppression cease ; The stones cry from the walls, Till gray injustice falls Till strong men build in freedom s fate, The pillars of the new Fraternal State. Let trifling pipe, be mute, 104 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Fling by the languid lute ; Take down the trumpet and confront the hour, And speak to toil-worn nations from a tower Take down the horn wherein the thunders sleep, Blow battles into men, call down the fire, The daring, the long purpose, the desire, Descend with faith into the Human Deep, And ringing to the troops of right a cheer, Make known the Truth of Man in holy fear : Send forth thy spirit in a storm of song A tempest flinging fire upon the wrong. No. 69. THE LESSON OF LIFE JAMES R. TOWNSEND I HAVE learned a wonderful truth, * That lifts my thought above The sorrows of life and the fears of death Tis the truth that God is Love. I have learned that Love is Truth. And that Truth and Love is Life, That all in Truth is harmony, For in love there is no strife. I have learned that the kingdom of heaven Is the boundless realm of Mind A realm of Love and Light and Truth, With blessing for all mankind. I have learned that the Son of God Is also the Son of Man, And that Man and God are one in Mind, Before the world began. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 105 I have learned that unto me, In this wonderful kingdom of heaven, As sovereign and subject in truth and love, Both to rule and to serve is given. No. 70. SHOW ME THE WAY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX me the way that leads to true life, I do not care what tempest may assail me, I shall be given courage for the strife ; I know my strength will not desert or fail me ; I know that I shall conquer in the fray. Show me the way. Show me the way up to a higher plane, Where body shall be servant to the soul. I do not care what tides of woe or pain Across my life their angry waves may roll, If I but reach the end I seek some day ; Show me the way. Show me the way and let me bravely climb Above vain grievings for unworthy treasures ; Above all sorrows that find balm in time ; Above small triumphs or belittling pleasures, Up to those heights where these things seem child s play; Show me the way. Show me the way to that calm, perfect peace Which springs from an inward consciousness of right ; To where all conflicts with the flesh shall cease, And self shall radiate with the spirit s light. Though hard the journey and the strife, I pray, Show me the way. 106 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 71. VOICES KATE RESTIEAUX THE sound of the wind in the pine trees, The soft west wind of May, How it speaks to my heart of you, dear, And the days that have passed away. It is only a year ago, dear, That you and I stood still, Our every breath and motion hushed At the foot of the little hill. And though no word escaped my lips, And you were silent too, Each looked deep into the other s eyes, And both of us felt and knew That the sound of the wind in the pine trees, Which moved us anear to tears, Was a message of love from the Infinite One, Borne to our willing ears. And now as my life goes rushing on, While yours has seemed to cease, I have come again to the murmuring pines For a message of love and peace. And from out the vastness of time and space, A voice sounds low but clear, Saying to me that you are not gone That you still are with me here. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 107 No. 72. BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD W. E. ANNIN HpHERE are hermit souls that live withdrawn in the place of their self-content ; There are souls like stars that dwell apart in a fellowless firmament ; There are pioneer souls that blaze their way where high ways never ran ; But let me live by the side of the road and be a friend of man. I watch from my house by the side of the road, by the side of the highway of life, The men who press on with the ardor of hope, and those who fall faint with the strife ; But I turn not aside for their smiles or their tears, both parts of an infinite plan ; Just let me live by the side of the road and be a friend of man. Just let me live by the side of the road where the race of men go by, They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong, wise, foolish, and so am I ; Then why should I sit in the scorner s seat or hurl the cynic s ban ? Just let me live by the side of the road and be a friend of man. No. 73. IF I CAN LIVE HELEN HUNT JACKSON IF I can live To make some pale face brighter and to give A second luster to some tear-dimmed eye, 108 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Or e en impart One throb of comfort to an aching heart, Or cheer some way-worn soul in passing by ; If I can lend A strong hand to the fallen, or defend The right against envious strain, My life, though bare Perhaps of much that seemeth dear and fair To us on earth, will not have been in vain. The purest joy, Most near to heaven, far from earth s alloy, Is bidding clouds give way to sun and shine, And twill be well If on that day of days the angels tell Of me, " She did her best for one of thine." No. 74. OUR OLD-TIME FRIENDS MAE ELMORE BENSEN f I A HE years slip by from the olden time, * As we wander to and fro, And we wonder, " Where are the dear old friends We loved in the long ago ?" We often dream of those dear old days, When hand was clasped in hand ; Then an unspoken thought steals o er our soul Have they passed to the better land ? Will we know them no more in this vale of tears, Where life is a checkered way ? Or, will they cross again life s weary path To gladden some future day ? 109 Again, some day from out our band, A loved one we chance to meet, And we grasp the hand in a tender clasp, While we breathe Love s words so sweet. And we read again in the moistened eye The love of that olden time, And renew once more those happy days, In Love s sweet and tender chime. Then, we pass on our way each separate life, Must tread the winepress alone : But the sweet thought comes, as the years intervene, It leads to the shores of Home. No. 74. THE NEED OP MEN E world to-day needs MEN- Men who will not lose their individuality in a crowd men of character and will. Men of courage, men who are larger than their business, who put character above wealth, and whose word is their bond. Men who have the courage to do their duty in silence who are not afraid to stand for the truth when it is un popular, and who can say "no" with emphasis, although all the rest of the world says " yes." Men who are true to their friends through good report through adversity as well as prosperity. Men who would " rather be right than president."- Obermaver Bulletin. 110 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY No. 75. THE KEY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX ALL that I craved belonged to me ; God held the gifts, and I the key- He held them waiting my command, And yet I would not understand. In petulance and discontent Full many a wasted year was spent. I cried, " How cruel is the Fate That bids me work and weep and wait " For things that make life worth the living, Nor rob the Giver in the giving. " A little joy, a little wealth, Result for toil, abundant health, " A chance to do, a chance to be - And then I looked and saw the key ! Right in my heart I carried it, Divinely fashioned, formed to fit The lock of God s great Reservoir, Which held the things I thirsted for. The key was Love, pure gold, a-crust With glittering gems of swerveless trust. It fits all doors, it turns all locks, It leads the way through walls and rocks, It lifts the bolt, unbars the gate, And shows where all life s treasures wait. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 111 Oh, are there heights the feet would press ? Use Love, the key to all success ! No. 76. THE SECRET AND THE RESOLUTION J. A. EDGARTON WITH my eyes upon the morrow, I have risen from the Past, From the shadow and the sorrow, I have gripped the goal at last. I have found within my spirit all the riches that I sought, And have reached the realm I longed for, in the kingdom of my thought. With a soul erect, undaunted, now I face the Infinite, With a heart no longer haunted by a vestige of affright ; For I know that I am master of my lot and destiny, That in spite of all disaster, I am sovereign and free. And the future holds no terror, from my spirit s misty throne, I can smile at hate and error, and be monarch of my own. Naught without can hurt or bar me, though the world should do me wrong, In the end it cannot harm me, I can bear it and be strong. What are honors and possessions? They are shadows, nothing more. What the plaudits of the nations ? In a moment they are o er. I will seek the spirit affluence, in spite of worldly din ; And the plaudits that shall win me, are the silent ones within. 112 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY I will cling unto the highest, I will struggle toward the right, I will keep my spirit windows ever open to the light : I will keep my mind anointed with the magic balm of youth. I will keep my footsteps pointed toward the shining light of truth. I will leave the creeds and dogmas to the pedant and the priest ; I will seek to do my duty in this present life, at least ; What am I ? If I should live, or if I die, when I am gone, There is nothing lost, nor can be, for the Universe moves on. In my spirit is a promise of sweet Eternity, Of a progress onward, upward, through the eons yet to be. I will trust it, well content, and strive to fill my present place, As a unit of the Infinite, a factor of the race. I will try to lift myself to God, by elevating all ; Knowing we must rise together, or together we must fall, That the gospel of good actions is the gospel that is best; That the way to future blessing is to make the present blest. All the baubles that I wrought for in the past, I leave behind ; I have found the wealth I sought for, in the kingdom of the mind. With a soul, serene, self-centered, I can strive, deserve and wait ; For I know through all the eons, I am captain of my fate. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 113 No. 77. HUMANITY IS DIVINE MARY A. WHITE Tune, Oh, to be Nothing, Nothing. To Rev. W. C. BOWMAN. |H, to be something, something, Here in this world below, A friend, a guide, a savior, To the weary hearts of woe ; Something be always doing, Tell of that blessed clime, When in the incoming cycle, Humanity will be divine. Oh, to be something, something, To brothers and sisters mine, Down-trodden and hopeless, weary : But Humanity is divine. Oh, to be something, something, Type of the God above, Mercy and Truth and Justice, The attributes of Love. Some one to call him brother, And say of that glorious time, As breatheing in accents tender, Humanity is divine. Oh, to be something, something, Glad that this life is mine, Proclaiming to those around me Humanity is divine. Oh, to be something, something, In purpose both strong and true, Undaunted by powers of evil So comfort I bring to you ; 114 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Pointing to the day-star gleaming, That heralds the glories sublime, When the song of the victor shall echo Humanity is divine. Oh, to be something, something, Clasping my hand in thine, And join in the song triumphant, Humanity is divine. No. 78. WILL BE BUT ONE COUNTRY VICTOR HUGO FOR four hundred years the Human race has not made a^tep but what has left its plain vestige behind. We enter now upon great centuries. The sixteenth century will be known as the age of Painters, the seven teenth will be termed the age of Writers, the eighteenth the age of Philosophers, the nineteenth, the age of Apos tles and Prophets. To satisfy the nineteenth century, it is necessary to be the painter of the sixteenth, the writer of the seventeenth, the philosopher of the eighteenth ; it is also necessary, like Louis BLANC, to have the innate and holy love of Humanity, which constitutes an apostolate, and opens up a prophetic vista into the future. In the Twentieth Century War will be dead, the Scaffold will be dead, Animosity will be dead, Royalty will be dead, and Dogmas will be dead ; but MAN WILL LIVE. For All there will be but One Country that country the Whole Earth ; for All there will be but One Hope that Hope the Whole Heaven ! TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 115 All hail, then, to that noble Twentieth Century which shall own our children, and which our children shall inherit. The great question of the day is the question of Labor. The Political question is solved. The REPUBLIC is made, and nothing can unmake it. The Social question remains. Terrible as it is, it is quite simple ; it is a question between those who have, and those who have not. The latter of these two classess must disappear, and for this there is work enough. Think a moment ! Man is beginning to be master of the earth. If you want to cut through an isthmus, you have a LESSEES ; if you want to create a sea, you have a ROUDAIRE. Look you, there is a people and there is a world ; and yet the people have no inheritance, and the world is a desert. Give them to each other and you make them happy at once. Astonish the universe by heroic deeds that are better than wars. Does the world want conquering ? No, it is yours already ; it is the property of civilization ; it is already waiting for you ; no one disputes your title ! Have faith, then ; and let us realize our Equality as cit izens, our Fraternity as men, our Liberty in intellectual power. Let us love not only those who love us, but those who love us not. Let us learn to wish to benefit all men. Then everything will be changed ; Truth will reveal itself; the Beautiful will arise ; the Supreme Law will be fulfilled, and the world shall enter upon a perpetual fete day. I say, therefore, have faith ! " Labor is Life, and Thought is Light." No. 79. THE PEOPLE S ADVENT GERALD MASSEY coming up the steep of time, And this old world is growing brighter ! 116 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY We may not see its dawn sublime, Yet high hopes make the heart throb lighter. We may be sleeping in the ground, When it awakes the world in wonder ; But we have felt it gathering round, And heard its voice of living thunder. Tis coming ! yes, tis coming ! Tis coming now, the glorious time, Foretold by seers and sung in story ; For which when thinking was a crime, Souls leaped to heaven from scaffolds gory ! They passed, nor saw the work they wrought, Nor the crowned hopes of centuries blossom ! But the live lightning of their thought And daring deeds, doth pulse earth s bosom. Tis coming ! yes, tis coming ! Creeds, empires, systems, rot with age, But the great people s ever youthful ! And it shall write the future s page, To our humanity more truthful ! The gnarliest heart hath tender chords, To waken at the name of " brother," And time comes when brain-scorpion words We shall not speak to stint each other. Tis coming ! yes, tis coming ! Freedom ! the tyrants kill thy braves ; Yet in our memories live the sleepers, Though murdered millions feed the graves Dug by death s fierce red-handed reapers ; The world shall not forever bow To things which mock God s own endeavor ; Tis nearer than they wot of now TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 117 When flowers shall wreathe the sword forever. Tis coming ! yes, tis coming ! Fraternity ! love s other name ! Dear, heaven-connecting link of being ! Then shall we grasp thy golden dream, As souls, full-statured, grow far-seeing. Thou shalt unfold our better part, And in our life-cup yield more honey ; Light up with joy the poor man s heart, And love s own world with smiles more sunny. Tis coming ! yes, tis coming ! Ay, it must come ! The tyrant s throne Is crumbling with our hot tears rusted ; The sword earth s mighty have leaned on Is cankered, with our heart s blood crusted. Room ! for the men of mind make way ! Ye robber rulers, pause no longer ; Ye cannot stay the opening day ; The world rolls on, the light grows stronger The people s advent s coming ! No. 80. PHILOSOPHY OF THE EGO EMERSON I AM owner of the sphere, Of the seven stars and the solar year, Of Cassar s hand and Plato s brain, Of Lord Christ s heart and Shakspeare s strain. 118 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY HELEN WILMANS I I E who dares assert the I May calmly wait While hurrying fate Meets his demands with sure supply. No. 81. BE TRUE TO YOURSELF HARRIET SMEAD WHEN I was just at the careless age And knew very little of life or myself, I chanced on this motto in some old page : " Be true to yourself." Abroad or at home, at work or at play, Whether waiting on pleasure or sighing for pelf, It sang in my ears by night and by day : " Be true to yourself." When temptation comes boldly and knocks at your door, Whether robed in the guise of an angel or elf, By the aid of this motto you ll win every score : " Be true to yourself." It is better than amulet blessed by the priest ; It is grander than treasures of ocean or delf ; It is rarer than charm from the charm-laden East : "Be true to yourself." No. 82. WE OWE ALLEGIANCE TO THE STATE LOWELL WE owe allegiance to the State ; but deeper, truer, more To the sympathies God hath set within our spirits core. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 119 Our country claims our fealty; we grant it so, but then, Before man made us citizens, great Nature made us men. He s true to God who s true to man ; wherever wrong is done To the humblest and the weakest, neath the all-beholding sun, That wrong is also done to us; and they are slaves most base, Whose love of right is for themselves, and not for all the race. No. 83. SUNSET W. H. EDDY A FLASH of gold upon the twilight haze, ** Ten thousand glories setting sky ablaze, In gorgeous purple all the east is dressed, Pink, rose and crimson glorify the west. A cheer and shimmer in the autumn air, Tender as mother s kiss, or maiden s prayer ; A chrismal flood of light o er flower and field Thus, to the poet s soul stands God revealed. The mountian peaks, that in the noonday glow, Stand wrapped in mantles of unsullied snow, Now blush to beauty at Sun s good-night kiss, While shadows thicken in the deep abyss. The wave crests glimmer in the glorious light, Their darkening ebb reveals the coming night- A hush is in the air above, beneath A silence, holy as the sleep of death. 120 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY With head uncovered and exultant soul, I watch the climbing shadows westward roll. The sky-tints linger on each fleece cloud s face, As lovers linger in good-night embrace. The zenith brightens with a higher glow While shadows deepen o er the world below. Low down the west, in shimmering golden red, The sun seems drowning in a watery bed. Yet, though his glorious orb is lost to sight, Up spring broad banners of resplendent light, That play like lightnings o er the changing view As though its glorious beauties to renew. Like as some giant, when his death is nigh, When breath seems spent, and but a feeble sigh Rouses to final effort at life s close, Then sinks serenely to his last repose. The shadows fall, the night bird pipes his lay, The stars in glory troop their vast array, And seem an effort with their feeble beams To solace for the loss of day s broad gleams. Upon my ear there falls tremendous sigh I turn to greet a friend, with moistened eye, Hand clasps in hand, no sound of idle word, Our very beings to their depths are stirred. May we not hope, when our earth-day is done, To sink to rest, as sinks the setting sun ? So may we live that those we leave may say : " Theirs was the setting of a glorious day." TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 121 No. 84. AWAKE ! AND STRIKE THE HOUR ! GERALD MASSEY legends tell us of a Golden Age, When earth was guiltless Gods the guests of men, Ere sin had dimmed the heart s illumined page ; And prophet voices said twill come again. happy Age ! when Love shall rule the heart, And time to live shall be the poor man s dower, When martyrs bleed no more nor exiles smart ; People, it ripens now. Awake ! and strike the hour ! No. 85. GOME CLOSE, MY CHILDREN A. P. WILLIAMSON close, my child ! the tempest rages high Come close to me until it passes by ; I guide the winds and lightnings by my hand- Come close, there is no tempest where I stand. Come close, my child ! your love is not in vain, Though unreturned and yielding bitter pain ; Come close to me, my child ! and find, indeed, The one true Friend and Lover whom you need. Come close to me, my child ! I know your shame; I know what tongues are busy with your name; I know how lone and friendless you shall be, Come close, and find companionship in me. Come close to me, my child ! and do not weep Your loved ones are not dead, but taking sleep; After their toil they need refreshing rest Come close, and find them sleeping on my breast. 122 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY Come close, my child ! whatever may befall, And find relief and comfort through it all; In every trouble, and forever more. Come close to me, my child, and be secure ! 86. A NEW YEAR S MESSAGE ELLA WHEELER WILCOX THIS is the hour of the world s beginning. The past is gone, or it never was here. There is no sorrow, there is no sinning, There is nothing at all but a clean New Year. Stars stood still in the night and wondered, While out of the somewhere came the earth. So you have not failed and you have not blundered, For this is the first glad year of your birth. Life is new and the world is before you, Hope is with you and joy waits near, And the hands of angels are hovering o er you A mantle of love and you need not fear. Look not back into shadowed places Out of the shadows evolved to-day ; And fair to-day has a thousand graces Claim her and love her, and then away. There in the distance where lights are shining, There on the summit is set your goal ; Lose no moment in weak repining What can trouble a new-born soul ? The way is open and Time is your friend, And only good on the path can find you, If good alone to the path you send. 123 No. 87. DIVINE MANIFESTATION W. H. CARRUTH A FIRE mist and a planet, ** A crystal and a cell; A jelly-fish and a saurian, And caves where the cavemen dwell; Then a sense of law and beauty, And a face turned from the clod- Some call it evolution, And others call it God. A haze on the far horizon, The infinite tender sky, The ripe rich tint of the cornfields, And the wild geese sailing high. And all over upland and lowland The charm of the golden rod Some of us call it autumn, And others call it God. Like tides on a crescent sea-beach, When the moon is new and thin, Into our hearts high yearnings Come welling and surging in Come from the mystic ocean Whose rim no foot hath trod Some of us call it longing, And others call it God. Glimmering water and breakers, Far out on the horizon s rim, White sails and sea-gulls glistening Away till the sight grows dim; 124 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY And shells spirit-painted with glory, Where sea-weeds beckon and nod Some of us call it ocean, And others call it God. A picket frozen on duty, A mother starved for her brood; Socrates drinking the hemlock. And Jesus on the rood; And millions who, humble and nameless, The straight, hard pathway plod Some call it consecration, And others call it God. No. 88. THE SONG OF THE CENTURY ALLEN PARKINSON \T7RITE us a new song, Master, Not a meaningless echo of words and creeds, But a song that is written in works and deeds. Write of the living flesh and blood, Of labor and rest, and wholesome food; Of cups of cold water, of multitudes fed, Of hope for the living, and not of the dead. Write, and the world shall echo thy fame And write on the scroll of life thy name. CHORUS. Then write the song of the century, A song that shall set the wage- slave free, And loosen the shackles of organized greed A song that shall make men free indeed ! TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 125 Sing us the new song, singer. The world is so tired of those old strains The praises of wealth and unrighteous gains. Sing of the living competitive slave That hopelessly toils with heart so brave, Strained on the rack of the modern machine, And suffering with pains that are cruelly keen Sing, and the truth in thy vibrant tones Shall unseat kings and shatter thrones. CHORUS. Teach us the new song, preacher, The people are humming the chorus now, They all want to sing, will you teach them how ? Teach of the wealth that no thief can purloin, Of the true God, whose name isn t stamped on a coin; Of a law by which man may redeem himself From the blind God of Mammon and ill-gotten pelf. Teach till the clamoring voices of creed All join the glad song of human need. CHORUS. No. 89. HOW THE SAD OLD EARTH IS GROANING ABBIE WALKER GOULD FLASHING down on mount and river, Shedding rays of light afar, Tinging all things with its brightness, Causing hearts to beat with lightness, Shines the Twentieth Century Star. 126 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY How the sad old earth is groaning At each wayward, erring child Who has turned against his brother, Who his lamp of life would smother, Leaving him in darkness wild. But we bring the lore of sages From the archives of the past, Thousands glean truth from its pages Breath again the life of ages, With its mystic teachings cast. Then we open wide the portal Where the light has never shone, Rays we catch from the immortal Myriad-colored grand and awful, Clothed with love from Heaven s zone. So we bid you watch, my brother; Dawn has broke across the hills: Though the erring may fight us Never can his power affright us, Grinds no more the God his mills. But with love and peace undying We will work with heart and hand, Never swerving, never turning, Day by day grand entrance earning To the beauteous spirit land. No. 90. HARK ! THE NEW SONG ! EDWIN MARKHAM AM the Winged Victory. My Star Burns on the Future with auroral beam: TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 127 I tread upon the firmament afar I am the Muse, the mystery, the dream. The old song passes and the New Song breaks The Song of Tools, the Song of Common man; The road is Brotherhood the New Time takes, The rallying cry is, "Christ the Artisan." Up through the wailing chords and crumbling stones, The music of a New humanity Breaks on the effigies that fill the thrones; They hear, but don t know it is the Sea. Poets, waken in the world s eclipse ; Hurl back the fears, take down the battle-horn That Shelley held against his burning lips, And send on slaves the lightnings of my scorn. Wake to the passion of my Labor Word, Rise to the wonder of my joyous pain, Till through the break of song is fairly heard The cry of toiling millions at the chain. So crying in the voices of my lyre, " souls of Earth, ye must be born again Born from the beggary of self-desire Reborn to kings reborn to Social Men." Leave the dead altars where the blind souls kneel; The road I take into the ages dim Is strewn with light from Beauty s vivid wheel, And whispers with the feet of cherubim. All kingdoms rise and crumble to one end The dust of Babylon, the stones of Tyre; Only my kingdom, waiting to descend, Is worth the hero s toil, the poet s fire. 128 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY All kingdoms fail until my kingdom come; Feet stumble till they stand upon my peak; Tongues stammer and the lyric lips are dumb, Until the poets of my passion speak. No. 91. THE CHRIST STATE OF MIND V3 the Christ state of mind there can be no reward for service except in the serving; no desire for gain or fame, or of things external to service. The thought of raising one s self to power or authority over others is de grading and brutal. The desire for leadership is but slightly removed from the Indian s desire for scalps. The time will come when the exalting of one s self above another will be rightly regarded as the essence of unrea son and vulgarity. The great man, the individual hero, the raising up of masters over minds and lives, belongs to the child stage and the toy age of human development. And it will pass away when man comes to himself, which is the same thing as coming to his Christ state of mind and entering upon the realization of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus appealed to nature for his justification of the communistic ideal. Nature is indiscriminately provi dential. Jesus saw the same attributes in the fatherliness of God. It is to be seen in the shining of the sun, in the falling of the rain, in the ripening of the grain, in the blooming of the flower. These all give themselves without reference to human notions of justice or morality or worth. It makes no difference to the sun whether its rays are warming and vitalizing a rich man, a poor man, a beggar or a thief. It does not ask whether it be shining on a Hindoo or a Jew, a Mohammedan or a Christian, a repub lican or a democrat, a monarchist or a Socialist. It does TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 129 not discriminate between the orthodox and the un-ortho- dox, the good and the evil. The sun distributes its life and warmth by an all-inclusive and non-exclusive commu nism. So with the flower; it exhales its fragrance for the tramp or the crippled beggar child as readily as for the millionaire or the botanist. Nor does the grain of wheat inquire as to the worth or unworth of the man who eats it. So far as the wheat is concerned, it is all one to it whether it be nourishing a fashion-plated Lady Bounti ful, a pauper, a priest, or a hangman. And this is the way God acts, the way the universe acts, as well as the way nature acts. * * * Before we can realize the Jesus idea we must have Socialism. We must organize the world so that it shall be a fit place for free men and friends to live in. We must, through labor association, learn how to work together for the good of all, and at the same time keep hands off the individual. Only out of this practical groundwork of experience in co-operation can we come at last to love and liberty the Kingdom of Heaven. We are judging men by what they are in a dis eased and destructive civilization. REV. GEO. D. HERRON. 130 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY PART THIRD MARRIAGE AND A MARRIAGE CEREMONY I. SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUBJECT OF MARRIAGE OUR present system of marriage is doubtless the result of past experiences in civilization, and is probably the best and wisest sex rela tion yet evolved. It is, in fact, a natural neces sity under present political and social condit ions. Like other phases of life, it has come, not as the result of theory, but of tendencies and en vironments. It may not be an ideal finality, yet it is difficult to see how it could be improved upon under any other social system. Still it must be conceded that the mere fact of its having been made venerable thus far by law, custom and religion, is no conclusive evidence either of its perfection or its perpetuity. There are many errors hoary with age, as well as many truths suited to one stage of evolution and not to another. The future must determine whether our present marriage system is to prove the best for all time. The miseries and failures of the present mar riage system may not be due to any essential wrong in the system, but to the universal law of incom pleteness inherent in all things mortal and evolu tionary. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 131 Opinions as to the extent to which marriage is a failure may be exaggerated from a twofold fallacy: first, too large a generalization from personal ex perience; and secondly, the sensational reports of newspapers, which do not publish the successes in married life, but only the failures. Marriage proper is prompted by sex attraction and the divine and beautiful passion of mutual love between man and woman. Marriages based on other considerations than these are spurious, un natural and usually disastrous. By the time the new relation has passed the stage of novelty and romance, and Love s young dream has faded into real life, if antagonisms have not arisen and developed into a misfit and a divorce, the habit of association and companionship, with the coming of children and the increasing com plexity of common cares and interests, will make marriage a success. It remains now only to caution the unmarried that although "Love is blind, marriage is an eye- opener." A MARRIAGE CEREMONY 1. To THE GUESTS MARRIAGE is the first human relation, and the most beautiful and sacred in human life. When congenial and happy, it brings to mortal bosoms the highest mortal joys. It is the brightest festival and the holiest sacra ment that adorns and glorifies our earthly life. Well may the beauty and fragrance of flowers and the whiteness of joyous raiment mingle in the happy scene. Being authorized by the laws of the state, and by the higher law of Nature, we are now to cel ebrate this beauteous rite in the marriage union of the happy couple before us. 132 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 2. To THE COUPLE AND recognizing equal rights and equal dignity on the part of man and woman, the marriage vows you plight to each other are not separate and distinct, but mutual and equal. Do you therefore, solemnly pledge to each other in this marriage covenant, the faithful and recip rocal maintenance of equal rights, equal love, equal dignity, equal fidelity and equal moral purity, so long as you both shall live as husband and wife together? (Both here answer together "I do so promise.") In token of this sacred pledge, and symbolizing its unbroken perpetuity, join your right hands to gether. (Or if a ring is used, instead of the words, "join your right hands together," say "this ring from groom to bride is placed in mutual giving and re ceiving. ") Thus the marriage vow is sealed, and this man and this woman pronounced, henceforth, united to live as husband and wife in holy wedlock. (Any closing words of benediction may be used by the officiant as may be deemed proper. ) TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 133 PART FOURTH HOME AND HOME LIFE I. THOUGHTS ON THE SACREDNESS OF HOME LESSON ONE WHERE is HOME ? HOME is Heaven s first place; first in the beauteous order of Nature, and first in the wondrous history of man. 2 And what is home? A lodging place to dwell to eat to sleep? 3 Nay, a prison or an ox s stall is a lodging place. 4 Home is where the soul and its best affections reside and find a resting place. 5 As the stars are in the heavens and the clods are on the earth, so are the soul s affections nobler than the body s needs. 6 It is well to have material wealth to build, en rich and beautify the place called home. 7 But better still if mental wealth and moral beauty adorn each life to make the home a dear and precious place of love. 8 Home is the school of sure and effectual train ing, because its influences are constant like the "dropping water that wears away the stone." 9 If the home influences are beautiful, true and good, the children take these qualities by natural law as plants are perfected by the soil in which they grow. 134 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 10 As marble under the chisel of the sculptor, as clay in the hands of the potter, as wax in the fingers of the artist, so the little child is made good or evil by the influences of the home. 11 As like produces its like, and as the picture takes the color of the paint that touches it, so each home forms the character of its children by the atmosphere of its words and tones and tempers and actions. 12 Is the home a garden of beauty and sweetness and love? Blessed are the memories of such a home. Sing "Home sweet home." II. WHAT IS HOME? THE first pure symptoms of a mind in health is rest of heart and pleasure felt at home." 2 A stranger wandering o er the earth, won dering, asked: where and what is home? 3 "Home is the resort of love, of joy, of peace and plenty, where polished friends and dear rela tions mingle into bliss." 4 And say, without our hopes, without our fears, Without the home that plighted love endears, Without the smile from partial beauty won, Oh ! what were man? A world without a sun. " 5 Again, come wailing voices borne on the night- winds of winter the voices of homeless children pleading " what is home?" 6 Home is the place where the joyous laughter and prattle of children are heard, musical as the morning chorus of birds, and faces are all smiling and all hearts are glad. 7 Home is the sphere of harmony and peace, the spot where angels find a resting place when, bearing blessings, they dscend to earth." 8 Nor need we power or splendor, Wide hall or lordly dome: The good, the true, the tender These form the wealth of home. Sing " Love at home." TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 135 III. KINDNESS AT HOME HOW shall we know a happy home, and by what sure sign shall it be made manifest? 2 First of all, and greatest of the virtues that adorn a happy home, is the spirit of gentle ness, tenderness and love. 3 The law of kindness is on every tongue, and the spirit of sweet affection showeth itself in every look and word and deed. 4 Each member of the family shows a tender regard for the feelings and happiness of every other member in all that is said and done. 5 In all the duties of the household they study how to help each other, and bear each other s bur dens, and so fulfill the law of love and kindness. 6 When sickness lays its hand on one of the household, the tenderness and sympathy of the whole family are shown in soft footsteps, subdued voices, anxious inquiries and wakeful attentions. 7 Even when temptation has come, and one has fallen into evil, no word of harshness is spoken, but only words of sympathy and kindness, that the erring one may not be discouraged. 8 In such a home no quarrelsome words are heard nor ugly tempers shown; but should evil passion suddenly appear, it is met not in kind, but with patience and soothing; for "a soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. Sing Kind words can never die. IV. PLEASURES AT HOME AND what delights are found at home to charm the dwellers there, and make of home the dearest spot on earth for old and young? 2 If home it be indeed, it hath within itself all elements essential to fulfill each fond desire, and none will pine to go elsewhere in quest of higher joys. 136 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 3 The husband finds at home returning from his daily toil, his loving, gentle, wife, to greet him with a smile of welcome, a kiss of love, and tender words of cheer and hope, unmixed with any sad complaint or censure for his faults. 4 The faithful wife, amid the endless round of cares and varied duties of her station, maintains a sweet and quiet patience which holds her faithful husband as a lover still, whose chief delight is to share her uncomplaining troubles, lift each burden from her heart and study to gratify her every wish. 5 The happy home hath children who are wel comed as Heaven s precious gifts, and loved and prized as jewel treasures of the heart, and the bright adornments that make the home a place of joy and light. 6 The model home is a place of social enjoyment, abounding in innocent recreations, beautiful pleas ures and refining amusements, all studiously de vised and superintended by the parents and elder children. Sing " Do they miss me at home?" V. ORDER IN THE HOME THE home where peace and happiness are found gives earnest heed to the saying so deep and true, that "Order is Heaven s first law." 2 This magic maxim used in home affairs with constant application, makes even servile toil "a thing of beauty and a joy forever." 3 Its meaning mainly rests upon time and place and equal share; a time for every duty, a place for everything, and a justly portioned share of work for every one. 4 Seest thpu a home with its rising time, its re tiring time, its time to work, its time to play, its time for meals, its time for rest and its time for worship? How beautiful and orderly is such a home ! TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 137 5 But after all, no rule does perfect work, and some things extra may arise each day to do out side the rule. 6 Let each be quick to see these odds and ends, " and haste with cheerful heart and willing hands to do the extra work without complaint and all is well. 7 The home whose daily duties thus move on, with rteady, punctual rhythm like a drill, is the praise of all beholders, and a constant source of happiness at home. Sing "Work while you work." VI. THE ENDEARMENTS OF HOME THE true home has affections and a dialect peculiar to itself, and such a home is known by mutual intercourse of words far tenderer than ordinary speech. 2 And who can tell the sad misfortune of the home in which, from deep defect of nature, or fatal lack of harmony, the language of domestic affection is never heard in words of endearment between husband and wife, parent and child, bro ther and sister? 3 And the thought how sad ! this ill-starred fate ends not with that family alone, but propagates and multiplies a thousand fold, descending by transmission from generation to generation, each untrained son and daughter in turn becoming par ent to many more. 4 But pleasing is the thought that refinement, love and tenderness do likewise multiply in future lives and homes, as every graft from a choice tree makes still another tree "bearing fruit after its kind." 5 And what are these charming words that make the line between the happy and the unhappy home, and give sure proof that the spirit of love and peace and harmony abides and reigns and blesses there? 138 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 6 Only simple words are they, but the sign is sure: just "husband," or "wife" or "son" or daughter, "or " brother, " or sister, " or dear, " or "pet," or "darling," or any tender little epithet of dearness instead of the bare name. 7 Simple though it be, it is only where this dia lect prevails in family life that true domestic hap piness is found, and only to such homes does mem ory revert in future years with thoughts more precious than gold. VII. HOME, THE ARBITER OF LIFE EACH family is a government within itself; and being first in the order of Nature, and might iest in its impress on human character, should be ordered with deep wisdom and prudence. 2 Let it be known to all the world, for Wisdom hath made her solemn proclamation, that the weal or woe of the human race depends more on the order ing of the family than the ruling of the state. 3 As is the fountain, so is the stream : the tree takes its strength and stature from the clime in which it grows; even so the daughter is like unto the mother, the children are fashioned after the par ents, and are moulded into character by the sure training of home. 4 As the cause gives character to the effect and the law of responsibility never turns backward, so the learner is not at fault for the blemishes of his teacher ; neither can the parent say to the child, why hast thou made me thus ? Blessed are chil dren whose parents are instructed in this law. 5 How deeply then it affects the heart of the fa ther and the mother when they look into the faces of their children and reflect : these little ones are helpless in our hands and will surely copy our vir tues and our faults, transmitting them to their off spring as we have to ours. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 139 6 And let it ever be before you as a verity cer tain as the law of life, that if your children are way ward and undutif ul toward you, it is surely because your way has been unwise and perverse with them, and your influence over them not good, but evil. VIII. PRACTICAL RULES AND SUGGES TIONS FOR PARENTS IN TRAINING THEIR CHILDREN SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES TO BE KEPT IN VIEW A LITTLE child comes into the world as a blank sheet of paper to be written upon by some influences. These influences, if of the right kind, will make this blank sheet beautiful with a fair hand-writing of beautiful traits, habits and dis positions ; but if they are of the wrong kind, the blank will be filled with scribbling and deformity. 2 The one all-important principle underlying the whole philosophy of training is that of exercise. It is the supreme law of development, physical, mental and moral. Just as every muscle of the child s body and every faculty of its mind requires constant exercise in order to develop growth, strength and skill, so every principle, trait, affec tion and disposition of the moral nature requires to be habitually exercised in order to the development of true character and the forming of right habits. For example : to cultivate kindness, love, pity, benevolence or generosity, these sentiments them selves must be habitually appealed to and brought into exercise. 3 How to do this is the most important question of all the crucial point where shipwreck so com mon, so sad and so fatal is made by parents, partly from want of proper understanding and partly from want of proper affectional endowment. In either 140 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY case the mistake is in supposing that children are to be made good by mere authority and precept- talking, telling, instructing, advising and com manding them to do right and be good ; and scold ing or punishing (foolishly called " correcting") them, when they do wrong, In reality, this course instead of correcting evil tendencies in children, actually provokes, arouses and developes in them traits and dispositions the very opposite of those which parents wish to see in their children, such as feelings of anger, hatred, stubbornness and re sentment. As surely as like produces its like, the only possible way to develop good and amiable traits in a child is habitually to bring to bear upon it, in all your dealings with it, the very spirit and influence of these traits themselves. In a word, the whole process is simply a matter of response the child passively receiving influences and actively giving them back in kind. 4 From these premises it naturally follows that, since the true aim of home training is to refine the character and sensibilities of the children and bring their whole nature to its best and highest develop ment, the entire manner, conduct, language, spirit and bearing of the home should be characterized by love, purity, gentleness, propriety and refine ment. Children learn mainly by example not pre cept. Never say or do any thing, or show a spirit or temper which you would not wish your child to copy. As TO THE RIGHT SPIRIT AND MANNER OF DEALING WITH CHILDREN 1 Seek to control your children, not by rigor of authority, but by goodness of influence. Accord ingly you should be very careful to avoid the man ner of one exercising authority merely, a manner which makes children feel that they are simply TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 141 forced to do your will. On the contrary, speak to the child in a way that conveys more the idea of a request than a mere command. This will make the child feel that its personality is respected, and that its compliance with your wishes is a matter of pleasure and not of merely servile obedience. In a word, let your whole manner and spirit be that of kind and affectionate appeal to the higher and nobler nature of the child, and not that of mere authority or threatening addressed to the baser principle of fear. 2 Never lose sight of the all-important truth that love must be the ruling principle in the train ing and right development of children. Grown up children who remember the home of their child hood and youth only as a place of strife, discord, harshness and severity, are surely to be pitied. 3 The spirit of love and kindness is the spirit of peace ; the spirit of harsness and anger is the spirit of war. 4 The spirit of kindness and love uses words of praise and encouragement ; the spirit of anger ex presses itself in words of reproach and censure. 5 Anger, scolding and harshness can never se cure a cheerful or genuine obedience. Only kind ness and love will do that ; and if the parents themselves have not this spirit inherent within them, and do not exemplify it in their relations with each other, the case is the most pitiable for both parents and children. III. SOME MORE DEFINITE RULES AND METHODS FOR HOME TRAINING AND ECONOMY 1 One of the first and most essential rules for the proper care of children is constant oversight. During the period of infancy this responsibility of oversight is absolute, because children then are ab solutely helpless and dependent But this care of 142 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY infancy is of a purely physical kind, supplying on ly bodily wants and preserving from bodily harm. By and by this bodily care begins to be relieved as the child grows into activities of its own, but over sight of another kind and of a higher order now becomes necessary. It is now that the mental and moral welfare of the child begins to need guardi anship. It must be guarded against bad influences, bad associations and bad habits. It must not be left to itself to find its associates by accident or pick up its reading matter by chance. Parents must know where their children are, what they are doing and what they read. Those who let their children run loose on the street are the people who furnish crim inals for society. This constant oversight costs some trouble, but it costs far less trouble than re- missness costs of sorrow. 2 But at this very point, parents are in great danger of falling into an error almost as disastrous as want of oversight. Failing adequately to un derstand child nature and its essential demands, many parents act on the theory that oversight is merely a matter of restraint or prevention by which children are to be prohibited and their activities suppressed. A greater mistake could hardly be made. But it is the natural result of the old dog ma of total depravity which teaches that chil dren are born wicked and that they have no incli nation to do any thing but evil. As a matter of fact, there is no natural desire in children to do either good or evil as such. They are neither mor al nor immoral to begin with, but are simply en dowed with strong motive tendencies seeking ex pression in action without regard to the question of right and wrong. This latter distinction comes later as the result of experience and educational development. Just here is the true purpose and function of over-sight in home training; not the restraint or suppression of the child s activities, but their proper direction and guidance for the forma tion of right habits and the establishment of a sound moral character. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 143 3 Keeping this important principle in view, watch the development of your children s active tenden cies, and, instead of antagonizing or attempting to repress them, lay your diplomatic hand of love and wisdom upon them and guide them in the right way. So, when you find your children seeking companionship with other children without regard to time, place or convenience, remember this is no sign of wickedness or even badness in the child ren, but only the spontaneous expression of one of the divinest and most beautiful instincts of human nature the social instinct. Don t rebuke or scold only guide and regulate it, remembering that the instincts of children are active long before they are capable of reasoning about the proprieties of conduct. Reason, discretion, judgment even con science itself are the results of educational devel opment and training, and it is both unreasonable and unjust for parents to require or expect children to have these virtues until they have had due in struction and training. Instead, therefore, of con demning and opposing your children s fondness for company, let them know that you approve of it, but that it must be regulated by having certain times for making visits. Not only show them that you are willing for them to have these pleasures, but make it a point to help them plan for visits, outings, children s parties, etc. This will do more for the right training of the children and the prop er regulation of the home than all the scolding, faultfinding and punitive "correction" that could possibly be administered. 4 Another very important rule is to secure the active co-operation of the children in the whole plan of family government. To do this, the home must be understood as an organization, of which the children as well as the parents are members, each and all having some responsible duties to per form. A household can no more be well regulated without an organized order than can a state or a nation. A certain routine of work is to be done 144 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY every day, and each member of the family should know exactly what he or she is to do and at what time it is to be done; and instead of this assign ment of duties being made by the arbitrary au thority of the parents, it is far better to arrange the matter by mutual consultation and agreement so that each one becomes a real party to the tran saction, personally consenting to assume his or her part of the program. It must not be forgotten that child nature is at the same time human nature, and that nothing appeals more successfully to hu man nature than to have one s personality respec ted. 5 In order to the development of a spirit of self- reliance and self-help in your children and encour age them in habits of thrift and industry, see that each one is entrusted with the individual care and responsibility of some property, enterprise or occu pation of their own. Call it selfishness if you will, but children, no less than grown people, require the stimulus of personal interest and the hope of re ward to bring out the best that is in them. 6. To secure the best order and harmony in fam ily life, and cultivate orderly habits in the children, no less, let every member of the family, both par ents and children, have their own things and their separate place to keep them. This will prevent a great deal of annoyance and discord, which are al ways occasioned by a promiscuous handling and misplacing of each other s things. 7 To enhance the social and unselfish pleasures of home life, let it be the custom of each member of the family to relate to all the rest at table, and at regular family gatherings each evening, whatever has happened of interest during the day ; also for one to read aloud any interesting items of news, or lively sketches from books, and letters from mem bers or friends of the family. It should be made a regular part of family life to lay aside all work and care and spend an hour together in social conversa tion, intermingled with music and song of an ele vating and refining character. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 145 8 The importance of securing the voluntary co operation of children in their own discipline and training has already been pointed out in a previous paragraph under the head of planning for their company, recreations, etc. In order to secure the full benefit of this principle in the formation and development of moral character in the children, have them at the earliest possible peroid, con- scienciously and understandingly commit them selves to the idea and purpose of always doing right. And let this committal be made at times when the child is in a calm, placid state of mind, and not, as is too often the case, when both parent and child are in a state of violent passion the par ent in anger and the child in fright and trepida tion. A promise to be " good, " made under condi tions so thoroughly "bad," can have but little virtue in it, if any at all. But a deliberate agree ment and genuine purpose to do right, when form ulated into genuine words of promise, with mind and feelings all under the sway of the higher and nobler impulses, has a very powerful influence for good in the development of conscience and the shaping of character. This principle has been verified by universal experience, and is held to be so essential as a moral educator that solemn pledges, promises and covenants now form, and have in all ages formed, the very basis of all moral and spiritual institutions. Indeed it is hardly pos sible to overestimate the importance of utilizing this principle in the home training of children. And as these covenants and pledges have always been associated with impressive forms and cere monies of imitation to make them most effectual, it would doubtless be of great service in the moral and spiritual training of children to organize the household into a sort of mystic order with its ethi cal code administered in the form of pledges by in itiatory ceremonies, made impressive by beautiful forms and symbols. If such drilling has been found necessary to the social, moral and spiritual inter- 146 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY ests of grown-up people, it ought certainly still to be more helpful in the training of children, whose very nature pre-eminently fits them for such exer cises. 9 In carrying out the foregoing plan, the follow ing form of pledge is suggested as a gaide : I will never do what I know to be wrong. I will never do what I fear may be wrong. I will never knowingly do what will cause pain, or trouble to my parents, or others. I will never speak or act rudely or unkindly to any one. I will never speak evil of any one unless it be necessary for the protection of some one else. I will always endeavor to speak of the good rather than the evil I may see in others. I will always try to be orderly, having a place for everything and keeping it in its place, and do ing every duty at its proper time. I will always strive to be cheerful, kind, obliging, courteous and helpful to others, and especially to the sick, the poor and the unfortunate, remember ing that kindness and respect to the lowly is the surest mark of a noble mind. 10 Another very important aid in the successful management of children is encouragement. Goethe wrote wisely when he said: "Correction is good, but encouragement is better. To this end parents should constantly study to impress their children with the idea, not that they are bad, but that they are good, and that the parents take pride in them for their goodness. The way to do this, of course, is to be always more ready to see and commend what is praiseworthy in the child than to condemn its faults. An ounce of praise is worth a pound of blame " with every human being and children are quite human. 11 Should it be found necessary as a last resort to inflict punishment upon a child, let it be admin istered calmly, without haste, heat, anger or vio lence of manner. The aim is seriousness of im- TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 147 pression, which is always lost when hasty and vio lent temper is shown. Like begets like. Bellig- erance of temper rouses the same spirit in the child, thus developing in it the very traits you do not wish your children to have. Besides, how can we expect to control others when we cannot control ourselves? 12 After all, universal experience has shown that religion is the supreme moral force in family life, as in all other life. In spite of all the errors and superstitions by which the simplicity of the religious sentiment has been marred and distorted, it is still a fact that the mothers who have gone deepest into their children s lives and filled them with undying memories of "home and mother," are not those who have been harsh, exacting and fault-finding, but those who have led their children into "the secret place of the Most High," and with tender and loving hands upon their heads have kept them "under the shadow of the Al mighty. I4S TWEXJ3SZTB CSX7TST PART FIFTH FUNERAL SERVICES ETPIAXTORY PREFACE A FUXERAL service usually consists of two \ - ; vrr :: ;:_r5f :: ~ -:- ~ :.:-..;. 5:^" :-~ ;.:.:. 2.7 i ::T :r.f ire: ir. :;-7 ::r:ir/_s:j.-.:r;f . : r :-.~ :. A: .-.- \ f 7 ". ~ - A ?; - _ ... . ." , . . , ..... ." . xtcfa. 5 ; - :;-r jriv^ TWES T1ETH ClVrr Y F sZM : -;. iff READING SELECTI - B Y :he -y^erio^ La v/e "orrcorr.e irr_r.-.:r lently c^rr.e ir.v raents of earth-life have . . .. _ T he death of the physical body is but by which the sirii^al rxxi. is translat tiiem on me No. 2. W .:.= vaiz: : :.: :rlv 3. :-/.: : r.: Physic is the CO 150 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY terror, but accepting it as a necessary incident in the divine and eternal order of Nature, and there fore not an evil but a good. Could we look upon the sleep of death with a full comprehension of its meaning, we would exclaim, "How beautiful!" And how it lightens the burden of our sorrow to know not only that our loved ones still live, but that through the gates which are left ajar, they are coming and going to make our lives on earth one with that above. No. 3. It is always a solemn and impressive occa sion when we come to consign a human being to the grave ; but to those whose minds are free from su perstition, it is never an occasion of despair. Superstition only has surrounded the death bed with terrors and filled the future with hideousness and gloom. A knowledge of the true philosophy of life banishes the fear of death, dissipates the darkness of despair and puts a star of hope in ev ery sky and over every coffin. For while some claim to have no knowledge of the future beyond the grave, yet in an hour like this we can each and all of us say that we hope to meet our dear de parted ones in a higher and a better world. And who knows but that these very sorrows of death are meant by contrast to give a higher joy to life itself, as the light is made more precious by reason of darkness, and sweetness still more sweet after tasting the bitter herb. In the presence of death how beliefs and dogmas wither and decay ; how loving words and loving deeds burst into blossom. In every heart there grows the flower of eternal hope. Immortality is a word that hope has been whispering to love through all the ages past. For this hope of reun ion of hearts beyond the grave, we are not in debted to any priesthood, to any church, or to any book. It was born of human affection, and has ebbed and flowed in the human heart in all ages TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 151 and in all lands, and will still be found wherever love kisses the lips of death. So beneath the sev- en-hued arch of hope we lay our dead to rest. No. 4. (For Children.) " Leaves have their time to fall, And flowers wither at the north wind s breath ; But all all seasons are thine own, death." By the immutable decree of Nature, the young, as well as the old, are subject to death at any time. From the wondrous tree of life the buds and blos soms fall with the ripened fruit, and in the com mon bed of earth patriarchs sleep side by side. There is not a flower that scents the mountain or the plain ; there is not a rosebud that opens its per fumed lips to tho morning sun, but ere the evening comes may wither and die. The stem is oftentimes broken ere the iily is fully blown. We catch but a glimpse of its beauty, and a breath of its frag rance and it is gone from our view. The life of one who dies so young, as it appears from the ever-flowing stream of time, is like a ray of sunshine that gladdens the heart of the tempest- tossed mariner as it flits across his way and bids him hope for brighter days. Tis vain to bid the sorrowing heart dismiss its grief ; but to those who mourn so deeply and so sadly o er this coffin we may offer the sure conso lation that it is well with the child. And even this great sorrow will in mercy be abated by the healing balm of time, for the heart of our great Father-Mother ir a heart of love and kindness after all. No. 5. (For the Aged.) By the immutable decree of Nature both old and young are subject to death at any time. Man in mellow old age sinks as tranquilly into the slumber of death as the infant falls asleep on its mother s bosom. 152 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY In youth we cling tenaciously to life, and are troubled at the thought of dissolution. This youth ful tenacity of life may be likened to the clinging of the unripe fruit to the branch. It cannot be plucked thence except by the violent breaking of the stem which holds it. But the hold on mortal life with the aged has gradually weakened, until it is like the ripened fruit of autumn, touch it gently and it drops freely to the earth. In this we clearly recognize a benign provision of Nature s kindly plan. Death comes to the aged as the plucking of the full-grown ear ; as the sickle to the golden grain ; as the gathering of the evening shadows around the setting sun ; as the falling of the seared leaf touched by the frosts of winter. Tired of the dust and glare of the day, they hear with joy the rust ling garments of the night. And yet, if the light of immortality is shining upon them, this welcome night is but the restful prelude to the morning of an eternal day. VII. (A FINAL READING) JOHN S. ADAMS SWEET rest at last ! At last the hands are folded Upon a pulseless breast, And a soul grown tired of earth s great burden weary Hath found sweet rest. Sweet rest at last ! A long and faithful worker On life s broad, beaten road, Reaching the confines of a life immortal, Lays down the load. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY 153 Sweet rest at last ! No longer thorns are pressing Upon a care-worn brow ; But from the heavens a fadeless crown of blessing Rests on it now. Sweet rest at last ! No more earth s fretting dis cord Disturbs the holy calm ; But angel choirs chant to the listening spirit Their peaceful psalm. Sweet rest at last ! We clasp our hands in silence, And inly hope to be Some time with those who enter at the portal, And heaven to see. Some time, amid the realms of fadeless beauty, Earth s toils and sorrows past, Find with the dear ones who have gone before us Sweet rest at last." CLOSING WORDS AT THE GRAVE ON lowering the casket it is always appropriate to use the time-honored formula : Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and the immortal spirit risen to the realms of immortality. After which one of the following paragraphs (or any other optional form of benediction) as may seem best may close the service : I. "To Nature, the source of all, we now surrender him (or her) who has passed on before us. May all the sweet and thrilling influences of fragrant fields, of flowering plants, of bursting- buds and blossoming vines, of silvery streams and 154 TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY genial showers, of setting suns, of jeweled nights and dawning days, melodious with the songs of birds and with all the wondrous harmonies of Na ture, be with our dead." II. " With morn, with noon, with night; with chang ing clouds and changeless stars ; with grass, with trees and singing birds ; with leaf and bud ; with flowers and blossoming vines ; with all the sweet influences of Nature and with the tender and loving memory of friends and kindred, we leave our dead. " III. "In this peaceful, silent city of the dead we have laid to rest the mortal remains of our departed . Peace be to - - ashes and respect to - memory. May - - evil be buried with - - and - live after , since " death leaves only the beautiful." Let us sympathize with- -misfor tunes, remembering that there is no sky always cloudless. Let us forget - - shortcomings, re membering that it is human to err. Let us cherish the memory of - virtues, - - kind w r ords and living deeds in the name of humanity s common brotherhood." IV. Through all the bygone generations man has stood before the mysterious vail which separates the present from the future with his feeble torch anxiously inquiring what form of existence shall succeed this earthly life. Poets, philosophers, prophets and priests have painted this future with their visions and dreams, making the picture dark or brilliant according as their traditional beliefs were bright or gloomy. But in the surer light of spiritual revealments the long night of superstition is dawning into day. There s light ahead for all the dead. TWENTIETH CENTURY FORMULARY V. The upper air is peopled by the departed. Death does not destroy us. It simply separates by a mys terious alchemy the mortal from the immortal, and it is only a short journey from this world to the other. While we are saying our "good night" to the dying, they are listening to a "good morning" from those who have joined the majority. Our dead are not far from us ; but we would not keep them earth-bound by our griefs. We say, then, not "Farewell," but we look upward and follow them to higher realms. (NOTE. In case of cremation, the paragraphs in tended for use at the grave are of course to be omitted, and in their stead a brief service should be held at the crematory chapel, suitable to this method of disposing of the dead. In closing such service the following formula is suggested as ap propriate :) And now, as gold is purified by the fire and the spirit is chastened in the furnace of afflic tion ; as the transforming power of heat is Na ture s mighty process of purification and the re newal of life , so the elements of the mortal body are quickly purified by fire and set free again in Nature s great laboratory of life to quicken other forms of living beauty ; while the immortal spirit passes into the realm of immortality to be greeted by the loving and loved ones who have gone before. So, looking upward, not downward, we say this brief farewell ; and may the sweet consolations of immortal hope and life eternal lift the shadows from all these sorrowing hearts. Amen." This book is DUE on the last date stamped below < Jm-10, 48(B1040)470 >03 Twentieth J8$t__ce_ntur; Inulary A 000917219 8 PS 3503